Quotes from Gerry Mulligan

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.

When I began listening to saxophones, I was first attracted to Coleman Hawkins.

Eliminating the piano means that I've always worked closer with the bass than most players.

What I came back to is that jazz is a music to be played and not to be intellectualized on.

The first reason for starting to do the symphony concerts was to play this new piece of mine.

Then, of course, I played alto and tenor, wherever there were jobs.

Only the French, I guess, really use tenor and alto to any great extent in the orchestra.

The baritone can serve functions that the alto and tenor cannot, in orchestral voicing.

The recording industry has changed; they're enjoying such incredible success in the pop field

This life of being a transient human being has gotten to a point when it's very hard to bear

Life on the road is murder. It's as though life begins and ends when you have your horn in your mouth.

Because if you've got the wit, you can make anything into a melody, ultimately.

People are approaching electronic levels in music; although not all of it happens to tickle my fancy.

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

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.

If you've only got one horn playing, I still want the sense of ensemble.

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.

Miles Davis is one who writes songs when he plays.

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.

The Russian composers, especially, tricked the symphony orchestra into the kind of dynamic, rhythmic thing.

I've always wanted a C trumpet on top, to have that same kind of facility without shouting.