1. You Took Advantage Of Me
2. Black Nightgown
3. Body And Soul
4. Barbara's Theme
5. Apple Core
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine
7. Out Of This World
8. Spring Is Sprung
9. My Funny Valentine
10. Bweebida Bobbida
11. Go Home

1. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
2. Moten Swing
3. Bweebida Bobbida
4. Go Home
5. Blue Port

November 19, 1960

 LINER NOTES

Here is a segment from the original review, which was included in "Jazz Magazine" in 1960: "The Concert Jazz Band which appeared on scene at L'Olympia consisted of thirteen musicians (1 Gerry + 12], something that for some people was quality warrant and for some others a signal of bad luck. Fifteen minutes later, Zoot Sims joined the 12 + 1 and threw away all the astrological speculations. Properly disposed on the stage, seated in front of their music sheets, all neatly dressed in black and most of them wearing eye glasses, they put in the very heart of Paris this college America at the same time intelligent, sure of herself, inoffensive and aseptic... Composed of four saxophones (baritone, tenor, alto, clarinet or second alto), three trombones (one of them played by Bob Brookmeyer], three trumpets, drums and bass, to which sometimes Mulligan's baritone sax (and sporadically piano] and Zoot Sims' tenor sax are added, the Concert Jazz Band manifests the spirit of its creator. It is a synthesis between a true big band, with neat and well identifiable sections, and the small combos of four to six soloist musicians."

Instrumentation was always a concern for Mulligan, who was one of the first to exclude the piano from the jazz rhythm section (although he played it sometimes, as can be heard on some selections from these concerts], and he was constantly experimenting with new formats for his music. These concerns are certainly reflected on his Concert Jazz Band recordings.

"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", Mulligan explained during an interview. "But, you know, the symphony orchestra is locked into its instrumentation. Nobody's thinking in terms of adding single colours. Like, you add it for one symphony or something. 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. There are so many things you can do. You can cross-voice the baritone with cellos, French horns, all the low instruments; also you can relate it with higher voices, if you want to. It's also a solo voice. You don't really have that facility with the alto and tenor; certainly not in the classical tradition of playing saxophones. 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. And in those days they would have baritone trios, just for an effect. Three baritones playing a melody in three-part harmony had kind of the effect you can get with a Hammond organ now; you can adjust the stops to get that kind of low sound. You would see the three saxophone players sitting there with their baritones; then they'd play three sopranos. It started to get locked into something else in the thirties, when it broke down into a four-saxophone front-line, with the two altos and two tenors, So then it got to a thing, like, adding a fifth voice. That is when the baritone really became the ensemble instrument, where before it had been treated as a solo instrument."

About his experience with the CJB, Mulligan added during the same interview: "In a way, I had this desired facility with the Concert Band. When that band first started, we put a lot of time into it in rehearsal. And I think all that rehearsal time was the thing that we rode on the rest of the time. Because once we put the band to work, we hardly ever got to rehearse again. The kind of marvellous rapport we had in the approach to section playing and all the rest of it was established in rehearsal. There was a handful of guys in the band who filled the function of lead men in the symphony or any band. Like, a lead man takes care of his section. There was tremendous musical discipline in that band, no matter what went on. We had Bobby in the trombones, Nick Travis in the trumpets, Mel Lewis in the rhythm section. I suppose I sort of took care of the saxophones, except they were also a section independent of me. You put the thing to work, and then there's not the time any more, you see. My whole thing was that I should have a band I wanted to write for. When I had it, I was working so hard, I think I only wrote five arrangements for the band all the time it was together. So as a vehicle for writing for me, it was ultimately a disappointment. But it did a lot for me in playing, because I loved playing with the band. It was like exercising a whole other writing facility night after night; I could play against the arrangements. Instead of having Chet Baker or Bob Brookmeyer as one voice against me, I had all these possibilities. A lot of times, the ensemble was serving the alternate function that Chet served in the quartet; and we dealt with arrangements like that. I think a lot of the things worked out very well and it's the same as I still feel about the ten-piece business; it was like, scratching the surface of possibilities of approaches. And I'm glad we did it."

Although the instrumentation of the original Gerry Mulligan Quartet consisted of trumpet (Chet Baker), baritone, bass and drums, the one that played L'Olympia in 1962 had a trombone in place of the trumpet. As Mulligan stated, it was not an easy replacement: "Bobby Brookmeyer and I never had it that easy because he was always stuck into that role of being a substitute trumpet player and like, trying to play lines against himself. These are the kinds of things that there's no reason for people to be aware of, I suppose. But that strain always hampered Bobby with the group, and it was something we were always conscious of as well. We tried to do everything we could to alleviate it, but the only real solution would have been to have the trumpet with us."

Liner notes by Matias Rinar

"In a way, I started out to be a baritone player. My problem as a youth was I couldn't afford a baritone. I started on clarinet, actually, and the next instrument I wanted was a baritone. But the first one I could afford was an alto. 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. I was working mainly single engagements, club dates and all that sort of thing, on alto and tenor. Baritone was still regarded as a kind of a misfit."

Gerry Mulligan interviewed by Les Tompkins, 1969