My interest in Gerry Mulligan goes beyond his sound and how it was achieved. Of course, like many musicians and Mulligan-lovers, I’m interested in his choice of mouthpieces, reeds, instruments, etc. Not to be overlooked are his skills as a composer and arranger. My exploration of his music over the past three years has been exciting, inspiring, motivating, and exhausting. I would like to share with you some of my experiences.

As a young saxophonist I did my best to listen with open ears to everyone that I was told I should listen to. Being brought up in a house with big band music helped steer me toward Basie, Ellington, The Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman. I was not aware of Gerry’s Concert Jazz Band until the summer of 2005. I had just graduated with a Master of Music in Jazz Composition from DePaul University and was given the Mosaic Records Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band Sessions by my wife, Lisa Rosenthal.

I listened to those four compact discs and nothing else for the next nine months. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The compositions, arrangements, and playing by everyone was astonishing. I needed to know how those beautiful recordings looked on paper; how were those textures achieved and how were the instruments paired. I wanted to know everything I could about the arrangements so that I might utilize those techniques in my own compositions and arrangements.

After an exhaustive and unsuccessful search for scores on the Internet, I contacted the Library of Congress to see if I could go to Washington and do my research. I was encouraged instead to contact Franca Mulligan with my request. After speaking with Mrs. Mulligan about my interest in All Things Gerry, she invited me to her home to see Gerry’s studio and to do my research. What started out as an interest in doing a bit of research has turned into a life-long project.

Once I studied several scores and saw how this amazing music was constructed I decided to put together a band to play the music if only to further study its complexities. After several rehearsals I then decided we needed to perform the music so that people could hear it live and possibly be introduced to something new. The response from musicians and audiences has been tremendous: there is an excitement and enthusiasm from both groups that I rarely see. Ted Hogarth and The Mulligan Mosaics Big Band has performed at festivals and clubs over the past three years, including the 2007 Chicago Jazz Festival. Our first recording Live at the Jazz Showcase will be released by the end of 2009. (www.mulliganmosaics.com)

When I was preparing to rehearse for the first time I already knew that the photocopies of the music needed editing to be playable. It wasn’t because they were photocopies; it was due to years of performing and reworking the arrangements without making newer, cleaner parts. So I began the process of entering the scores into the music notation program Finale in order to make the parts legible and easy to edit. Once all of the editing of the Finale scores is completed I then put the music in front of the band ready to be performed.

The process of entering the scores into Finale and editing them to be playable is long and very worthwhile. I begin by entering the hand-written score into Finale, which is saved as the original score. I then make a copy of the original score and save it as the edited score and make changes from the parts. After making changes to the edited score with changes from the parts I then make a copy of the edited score and save that as a second edited score in order to make additional changes based on the recording. I add background sections that I transcribe from a specific recording, add or delete sections based on that recording as well as any other information that isn’t written down. My goal is to make the music on the page match a specific recording. As I said earlier, I thought I could photocopy the music and put it in front of the band ready to play. I’ve had to go through the above process for all of the CJB arrangements.

Here are some specific examples of work that I've done.

“Blueport” by Art Farmer and arranged by Al Cohn for the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band. Mosaic Collection Disc 2 recorded at Santa Monica Auditorium, Santa Monica, Ca., October 1, 1960.

This one was particularly challenging to make playable. Typical of the music for any working band are the changes that occur due to necessity and/or inspiration as well as changes in personnel. The parts in the books and the original score are almost always different due to these factors. In the case of “Blueport” I had a lot of work to do. The form from the recording was very different than the form written in the original score as solos were extended and more soloists were added. Also, additional background sections were made up over time but were not written down.

I followed the form as recorded live at Santa Monica on the Mosaic Collection listed above. Also typical with most of the CJB music is that Gerry’s parts are not notated very well or at all. I had to transcribe Gerry’s part as most of his written part consisted of the form and notations as to who is soloing and when. I also transcribed a lot of what Bob Brookmeyer played as he and Gerry would improvise what sounded like written sections of just the two of them. After listening to various live recordings, these sections seemed to solidify and be played the same or similarly but were never written down.

Another example is Gerry's classic "Walkin' Shoes" which he also arranged for the Concert Jazz Band. My process with this arrangement has much in common with others that I’ve done. Issues that I’ve dealt with in researching and editing the Concert Jazz Band music include; circled notes in individual parts; making articulations consistent in each section and across the band; changed rhythms in individual parts with pencil markings, crossed out sections, and added sections.

After listening to recordings of the arrangements I’ve concluded that circled notes are not to be played. It is certainly less messy than crossing them out and allows for the circled note(s) or measure(s) to be played if Gerry changed his mind, again.

Articulations are written in the score for the lead instrument in each section and it’s assumed that the copyist include them in each part. That happens in most cases but not all. I’ve gone through and added articulations to all parts in the Finale edits and have changed some articulations that were written in the parts in order to have consistent and musically logical articulations. The articulations were most likely changed after the music was played because it was the better musical choice. Rhythms, like articulations, have been changed in parts probably due to simplifying the musical line or making it more interesting, or Gerry simply changed his mind. This happens less often than circled notes, or changes in the form.

Bass parts for the majority of the Concert Jazz Band arrangements, regardless of the arranger, consist of written out parts with chord changes notated occasionally. The bass part for this arrangement of “Walkin’ Shoes” has no chord changes written at all. Every note for the bass is notated. My theory is that this is due to the fact that there is no piano or guitar and that the background lines are written in the horns. The soloists have chord changes in their parts and are free to play how they wish. The bassist, however, needs to play the written lines in order for the harmony to be complete and to not interfere or oppose the written background harmonies in the horns.

Drum parts are logically notated and are very clear as to form, etc. They contain the typical information regarding hits during ensemble sections as well as any specific rhythms to be played with the bass. They are a good example of how drum parts should be notated.

The Finale versions that I’ve done are not perfect, I’m sure. Many hours of work and research have gone into each one but I know there will be mistakes. I welcome any information that anyone has to help improve and make these scores as accurate as possible. This has been, and continues to be, a fun and pain-staking process. The time I spend with the original scores, parts, and recordings is a fantastic learning experience.

My own writing and arranging has been greatly influenced by this process.

Ted Hogarth
Chicago-based saxophonist and clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator and director of the Mulligan Mosaics Big Band