Gerry Mulligan
This life of being a transient human being has gotten to a point when it's very hard to bear.
You start way down on a low B flat on the tuba and you have a chromatic scale; you can match the colours all the way up, till you get to the top of the trumpet.
In a way, I started out to be a baritone player.
So I played alto for quite a while until I saved up the money for the baritone.
Then, of course, I played alto and tenor, wherever there were jobs.
The other saxophones, except as solo instruments, really don't have much point in the orchestra.
The baritone can serve functions that the alto and tenor cannot, in orchestral voicing.
Only the French, I guess, really use tenor and alto to any great extent in the orchestra.
Now, the instrumentation in the jazz band and the jazz dance band has gone through many evolutions. For instance, in the 'twenties the tradition was two or three saxophones.
When I began listening to saxophones, I was first attracted to Coleman Hawkins.
In fact, I heard Bird first, and had got well into listening to him. You know, it's the kind of accidental thing that awareness of a player is: what's available, what somebody happens to play for you.
I like what I hear other guys doing, but the thing that really attracts me is melodic playing.
Miles Davis is one who writes songs when he plays.
Because if you've got the wit, you can make anything into a melody, ultimately.
People talk about innovations and evolutions and that kind of thing; I don't understand about that nonsense. It's like, all instruments are there to use all the time.
I've always wanted a C trumpet on top, to have that same kind of facility without shouting.
Eliminating the piano means that I've always worked closer with the bass than most players.
If you've only got one horn playing, I still want the sense of ensemble.
People are approaching electronic levels in music; although not all of it happens to tickle my fancy.
I'm fascinated with the electronic devices that we can mess around with.
You can make a saxophone into an electric organ; you can do everything with it.
New York is still where I live most of the time.
Actually, it is a fact that I've been doing more writing than playing in recent years.
The first reason for starting to do the symphony concerts was to play this new piece of mine.
When we've finished the current tour I'm going to go back to Italy and see if I can do some more writing.
It's true I've always been attracted to the jazz band in an orchestral way, rather than a band way.
I've appeared on some other people's albums.
The recording industry has changed; they're enjoying such incredible success in the pop field.
The Russian composers, especially, tricked the symphony orchestra into the kind of dynamic, rhythmic thing.
What I came back to is that jazz is a music to be played and not to be intellectualized on.Collection: Music
You can make a saxophone into an electric organ; you can do everything with itCollection: Saxophone
So I played alto for quite a while until I saved up the money for the baritoneCollection: Mulligans
Life on the road is murder. It's as though life begins and ends when you have your horn in your mouth.Collection: Music
This life of being a transient human being has gotten to a point when it's very hard to bearCollection: Hard Life
People talk about innovations and evolutions and that kind of thing; I don't understand about that nonsense. It's like, all instruments are there to use all the timeCollection: People
When I began listening to saxophones, I was first attracted to Coleman HawkinsCollection: Listening
Actually, when I was very young, first starting to play, I think I probably listened more to clarinet players than to saxophones.Collection: Player
The recording industry has changed; they're enjoying such incredible success in the pop fieldCollection: Fields
A very talented player and all around excellent musician. I love hearing his records on radio!Collection: Player
The baritone can serve functions that the alto and tenor cannot, in orchestral voicingCollection: Mulligans
The other saxophones, except as solo instruments, really don't have much point in the orchestraCollection: Orchestra
Only the French, I guess, really use tenor and alto to any great extent in the orchestraCollection: Use
I would think, of all the saxophones, the baritone would be the most logical instrument if anybody was adding a voice to the symphony orchestra.Collection: Thinking
People are approaching electronic levels in music; although not all of it happens to tickle my fancyCollection: People
When [Billy] Strayhorn came on the scene, he just blew us away.Collection: Scene
The Russian composers, especially, tricked the symphony orchestra into the kind of dynamic, rhythmic thingCollection: Symphony
Now, the instrumentation in the jazz band and the jazz dance band has gone through many evolutions. For instance, in the 'twenties the tradition was two or three saxophonesCollection: Two