California Concerts

1955 live album by Gerry Mulligan

California Concerts

Live album by

Gerry Mulligan

Released| 1955
Recorded| November 12 and December 14, 1954
Stockton High School, Stockton, CA and Hoover High School, San Diego, CA
Genre| Jazz
Label| Pacific Jazz
Producer| Richard Bock
Gerry Mulligan chronology
| Paris Concert
(1954)  | California Concerts
(1955)  | Presenting the Gerry Mulligan Sextet
(1955)

|
|

California Concerts (also referred to as Jazz Goes to High School) is a live album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded at the Stockton High School and Hoover High School in California in late 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.[1][2] The original LP was the first 12 inch LP to be released on the Pacific Jazz label in 1955. The Gerry Mulligan feature track "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" with Bob Brookmeyer on piano was first released on the compilation LP The Genius of Gerry Mulligan in 1960. Although the tracks were recorded at a high school, recording took place on weekends and in the evening. Chet Baker was originally chosen to be the trumpet player of the session, but was jailed for his ongoing heroin addiction, so trumpeter Jon Eardley took Baker’s place sounding very similar to Baker.

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings| [4]

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow said, "The music, comprised of standards, some blues and a few Mulligan originals, is quite enjoyable, swinging lightly and with plenty of interplay between the horns".[3]

## Track listing

[edit]

All compositions by Gerry Mulligan except as indicated

Original LP release:

Side one:

1. "Blues Going Up" - 5:32
2. "Little Girl Blue" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 5:11
3. "Piano Blues" - 5:45
4. "Yardbird Suite" (Charlie Parker) - 6:25

* Recorded at Stockton High School on November 12, 1954

Side two:

1. "Western Reunion" - 7:16
2. "I Know, Don't Know How" - 5:28
3. "The Red Door" (Mulligan, Zoot Sims) - 7:14

* Recorded at Hoover High School on December 14, 1954

Subsequent CD reissues split the album into two volumes of separate complete concerts

CD reissue - Volume 1: Stockton High School

1. "Blues Going Up" - 5:32
2. "Little Girl Blues" (Rodgers, Hart) - 5:11
3. "Piano Blues" - 5:45
4. "Yardbird Suite" (Parker) - 6:25
5. "Blues for Tiny" (Red Mitchell) - 3:35 Previously released on PJ-8
6. "Soft Shoe" - 3:46 Previously released on JWC-500
7. "Makin' Whoopee" (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn) - 3:14 Previously unreleased
8. "Darn That Dream" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Eddie DeLange) - 5:31 Previously unreleased
9. "Ontet" - 4:10 Previously unreleased
10. "A Bark for Barksdale/Crazy Chico" - 8:18 Previously released on WP-1247

CD reissue - Volume 2: Hoover High School

1. "Makin' Whoopee" (Donaldson, Kahn) - 3:14 Previously unreleased
2. "Nights at the Turntable" - 3:06 Previously unreleased
3. "Blues for Tiny" (Mitchell) - 5:20 Previously unreleased
4. "Frenesí" (Alberto Dominguez) - 3:16 Previously unreleased
5. "Limelight" - 3:44 Previously unreleased
6. "People Will Say We're in Love" (Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) - 4:04 Previously unreleased
7. "Western Reunion" - 7:16
8. "I Know, Don't Know How" - 5:28
9. "The Red Door" (Mulligan, Sims) - 7:14
10. "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) - 6:59 Previously released on PJ-8
11. "I'll Remember April" (Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye) - 4:20 Previously unreleased
12. "There Will Never Be Another You" (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon) - 5:37 Previously unreleased
13. "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) - 3:50 Previously unreleased
14. "Ellington Medley: In a Sentimental Mood/Flamingo/Moon Mist" (Ellington, Manny Kurtz/Ted Grouya/Mercer Ellington) - 5:50 Previously unreleased in full

## Personnel

[edit]

* Gerry Mulligan \- baritone saxophone, piano
* Jon Eardley \- trumpet
* Bob Brookmeyer \- valve trombone, piano (LP Side Two, and Volume 2, tracks 6-14)
* Zoot Sims \- tenor saxophone (LP Side Two, and Volume 2, tracks 6-14)
* Red Mitchell \- bass
* Larry Bunker (LP Side Two, and Volume 2, tracks 6-14), Chico Hamilton (LP Side One, Volume 1, tracks 1-10, and Volume 2, tracks 1-5) - drums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Pacific Jazz Records Catalog: 1200 series accessed February 29, 2016
2. ^ Gerry Mulligan Discography Archived April 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine accessed February 29, 2016
3. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. California Concerts Vol. 1 – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1053\. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

* v
* t
* e

Gerry Mulligan

Years given are for the recording(s), including the soundtrack albums, not first release. Some of the titles have been shortened.

Albums

leader

co-leader|

* Lee Konitz Plays with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet (1953)
* Paris Concert (with Bob Brookmeyer, 1954)
* California Concerts (1954)
* Presenting the Gerry Mulligan Sextet (1955)
* Mainstream of Jazz (1956)
* At Storyville (1956)
* The Teddy Wilson Trio &
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Bob Brookmeyer at Newport (split album, 1957)
* Jazz Giants '58 (with Harry Edison, Stan Getz, 1958)
* Mulligan Meets Monk (with Thelonious Monk, 1957)
* Blues in Time (with Paul Desmond, 1957)
* Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz
* Jazz Concerto Grosso (with Bob Brookmeyer, 1957)
* The Gerry Mulligan Songbook (1957)
* Annie Ross Sings a Song with Mulligan! (1957–58)
* What Is There to Say? (1958–59)
* Meets Johnny Hodges (1959)
* Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster (1959)
* The Concert Jazz Band (1960)
* The Concert Jazz Band on Tour (1960)
* The Concert Jazz Band at the Village Vanguard (1960)
* Holliday with Mulligan (with Judy Holliday, 1961)
* Presents a Concert in Jazz (1961)
* The Gerry Mulligan Quartet (with Bob Brookmeyer, 1962)
* Jeru (1962)
* Two of a Mind (with Paul Desmond, 1962)
* Spring Is Sprung (1962)
* Gerry Mulligan '63 (1962)
* Night Lights (1963)
* Butterfly with Hiccups (1963–64)
* If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! (1965)
* Feelin' Good (1965)
* Something Borrowed - Something Blue (1966)
* Summit (with Astor Piazzolla, 1974)
* Walk on the Water (1980)

With
Chet
Baker|

* Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 1 (1952)
* Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 2 (1953)
* Gene Norman Presents the
Original Gerry Mulligan Tentet and Quartet (1953)
* Reunion (1957)
* Carnegie Hall Concert (1974)

With
Dave
Brubeck|

* Live at the Berlin Philharmonie (1970)
* The Last Set at Newport (1971)
* We're All Together Again for the First Time (1972)

With
others|

* Birth of the Cool (Miles Davis, 1949–50)
* 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe (Barry Manilow, 1984)
* Pelé (Sérgio Mendes & Pelé, 1977)
* Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert (1972)
* The Classic Concert Live (with Mel Tormé & George Shearing, 1982)

Soundtracks|

* The Sound of Jazz (1957)
* I Want to Live! (1958)
* The Subterraneans (1960)
* The Hot Rock (Quincy Jones, 1971)

* v
* t
* e

Bob Brookmeyer

Albums|

* Bob Brookmeyer Quartet (1954)
* Bob Brookmeyer Plays Bob Brookmeyer and Some Others (1955)
* The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer (1954–55)
* Brookmeyer (1956)
* Jimmy Raney featuring Bob Brookmeyer (1956)
* Tonite's Music Today (and Zoot Sims, 1956)
* Whooeeee (and Zoot Sims, 1956)
* The Street Swingers (and Jim Hall, Jimmy Raney, 1957)
* Traditionalism Revisited (1957)
* Kansas City Revisited (1958)
* Stretching Out (1958)
* Portrait of the Artist (1959)
* The Ivory Hunters (and Bill Evans, 1959)
* Jazz Is a Kick (1960)
* The Blues Hot and Cold (1960)
* 7 x Wilder (1961)
* Trombone Jazz Samba (1962)
* Samba Para Dos (and Lalo Schifrin, 1963)
* Back Again (1978)
* New Works Celebration (New Art Orchestra, 1997)
* Island (2002)

Co-led
and with Clark
Terry|

* Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments (Brookmeyer, 1961)
* Tonight (1964)
* The Power of Positive Swinging (1965)
* Gingerbread Men (1966)
* Tijuana Jazz (Gary McFarland and Clark Terry, 1965)

* v
* t
* e

Zoot Sims

Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.

leader

co-leader|

* The Brothers (and Stan Getz, 1949–52)
* Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims (1956)
* The Modern Art of Jazz by Zoot Sims (1956)
* Tonite's Music Today (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1956)
* Whooeeee (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1956)
* Zoot! (1956)
* Locking Horns (and Joe Newman, 1957)
* Stretching Out (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1958)
* Jazz Alive! A Night at the Half Note (and Al Cohn, Phil Woods, 1959)
* Down Home (1960)
* Two Jims and Zoot/Otra Vez (Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall, 1964)
* Inter-Action (and Sonny Stitt, 1965)
* Waiting Game (1966)
* The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World (multiple leaders, 1967)
* Nirvana (and Bucky Pizzarelli, Buddy Rich, 1974)
* Basie & Zoot (and Count Basie, 1975)
* The Tenor Giants Featuring Oscar Peterson (and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, 1975)
* Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (and Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, 1975)
* Soprano Sax (1976)
* Hawthorne Nights (1976)
* If I'm Lucky (and Jimmy Rowles, 1977)
* For Lady Day (1978)
* Warm Tenor (and Jimmy Rowles, 1979)
* The Sweetest Sounds (and Rune Gustafsson, 1979)
* Just Friends (and Harry Edison, 1980)
* Art 'n' Zoot (and Art Pepper, 1981)

Recordings
with
Al Cohn|

* From A to...Z (1956)
* The Sax Section (Cohn led, 1956)
* Tenor Conclave (and Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, 1957)
* The Four Brothers... Together Again! (and Herbie Steward, Serge Chaloff, 1957)
* Al and Zoot (1957)
* Blues and Haikus (Jack Kerouac, 1959)
* SteveIreneo! (and Irene Kral, Steve Allen, 1959)
* Son of Drum Suite (Cohn, 1960)
* You 'n' Me (1960)
* Either Way (1961)
* Jazz Mission to Moscow (Cohn, 1962)
* Body and Soul (1973)
* Motoring Along (1974)

With
Quincy
Jones|

* This Is How I Feel About Jazz (1956)
* The Birth of a Band! (1959)
* Quincy Plays for Pussycats (1962)
* Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (1964)

With
Gerry
Mulligan|

* California Concerts (1954)
* Presenting the Gerry Mulligan Sextet (1955)
* Mainstream of Jazz (1956)
* The Gerry Mulligan Songbook (1957)
* The Concert Jazz Band (1960)
* Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band on Tour (1960)

With
others|

* Pepper Adams Plays the Compositions of Charlie Mingus (1963)
* Encounter! (Pepper Adams, 1968)
* Trigger Happy!/East Coast Sounds (Trigger Alpert/Sims, Cohn, Tony Scott, 1956)
* Chet Baker & Strings (1953–54)
* Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner and Loewe (1959)
* The Bosses (Count Basie and "Big Joe" Turner, 1973)
* Louis Bellson Quintet (1954)
* The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
* Jazz Is Universal (Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, 1961)
* Chris Connor (1956)
* The Book Cooks (Booker Ervin, 1960)
* Loose Blues (Bill Evans, 1962)
* The Aztec Suite (Art Farmer, 1959)
* South American Cookin' (Curtis Fuller, 1961)
* Creole Cookin' (Bobby Hackett, 1967)
* The Hawk in Hi Fi (Coleman Hawkins, 1956)
* Portraits on Standards (Stan Kenton, 1953)
* The Kenton Era (Stan Kenton, 1953)
* The Manhattan Transfer (released 1975)
* Profiles (Gary McFarland, 1966)
* Something to Swing About (Carmen McRae, 1959)
* Ms. Jazz (Carmen McRae, 1973)
* Metronome All-Stars 1956 (1956)
* The Complete Town Hall Concert (Charles Mingus, 1962)
* Arranged by Montrose (Jack Montrose, 1954)
* Encyclopedia of Jazz (Oliver Nelson, 1966)
* The Sound of Feeling (Oliver Nelson, 1966)
* Jazzhattan Suite (Oliver Nelson/Jazz Interactions Orchestra, 1967)

* All the Sad Young Men (Anita O'Day, 1962)
* Transition (Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, 1974)
* Shorty Rogers Courts the Count (1954)
* Samba Para Dos (Lalo Schifrin, Bob Brookmeyer, 1963)
* Moonlight in Vermont (Johnny Smith, 1952)
* Phoebe Snow (1974)
* Broadway Soul (Sonny Stitt, 1965)
* Vaughan and Violins (Sarah Vaughan, 1958)
* The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1 (Sarah Vaughan, 1979)
* Linger Awhile: Live at Newport and More (Sarah Vaughan, 1979)
* The Jazz Guitarist (Chuck Wayne, 1953)
* At Newport '63 (Joe Williams, 1963)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template