Gerry Mulligan Phone Interview–Oscar Brown Phone Interview [transcript]

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:12 Leonard Feather: Oh, sunny. Yes. All right. Son of Trevor. Hey. How you doing, Leonard? I’m sorry.

00:00:11:15 - 00:00:12:05 Gerry Mulligan: Hi, Leonard.

00:00:12:05 - 00:00:12:23 Leonard Feather: How are you doing?

00:00:12:24 - 00:00:14:10 Gerry Mulligan: I picked up the phone because I know you.

00:00:14:17 - 00:00:16:14 Leonard Feather: Oh, it’s all right. I’m sorry I.

00:00:16:14 - 00:00:21:28 Gerry Mulligan: Didn’t get back to before. This has been a hard and horrendous week of running around getting stuff together.

00:00:22:04 - 00:00:36:19 Leonard Feather: It didn’t matter, actually. Just as long as I can get it this week, because the the piece that I wanted to run is running a week from Sunday. And the deadline for that is this week, you know. So anyhow, I just posted, I want to tell you how much I had my the album.

00:00:36:21 - 00:00:45:16 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, I yeah, I did that because the, fellow from Pro Art, they called this morning and said, you wrote a very nice review of it and I. Oh yeah.

00:00:45:16 - 00:00:46:27 Leonard Feather: I guess it just came out. That’s right.

00:00:46:27 - 00:00:51:18 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Well, that’s that, that knocks me out because that that piece is important to me.

00:00:51:20 - 00:00:57:13 Leonard Feather: Well, I imagine so, because that’s, probably the most ambitious thing I’ve done in a long time.

00:00:57:14 - 00:00:58:07 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah.

00:00:59:06 - 00:01:12:08 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. And also the idea of, orchestrating for, a full symphony, you know, is something I always wanted to, to tackle. And. Yeah, and until recent years, I was afraid to even try.

00:01:12:10 - 00:01:12:24 Leonard Feather: Really.

00:01:12:27 - 00:01:18:13 Gerry Mulligan: And, I just finally took the bull by the horns, if you’ll pardon the expression.

00:01:18:13 - 00:01:20:13 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:01:20:16 - 00:01:24:24 Gerry Mulligan: And, spent the better part of six months on it.

00:01:24:26 - 00:01:28:09 Leonard Feather: My goodness. Did you have much tuition in that or would you? Self-taught.

00:01:28:11 - 00:01:33:00 Gerry Mulligan: No, I’m. I’m, I didn’t I love I’m auto didactic.

00:01:33:01 - 00:01:35:01 Leonard Feather: Yeah, right.

00:01:35:03 - 00:01:37:14 Gerry Mulligan: I love a word like that for being self-taught.

00:01:37:15 - 00:01:40:07 Leonard Feather: You know, that worked out pretty darn well for an autodidact.

00:01:40:09 - 00:02:03:23 Gerry Mulligan: Well, K is is. The thing is that, I think I’ve always had a good sense of orchestration. Is why, when I started out as a kid, you know, I would have never had any training. But, there’s so much of orchestration is simply logic. Yeah. And, and, and, comparing what the, what, you know, physically, the instruments can do.

00:02:03:26 - 00:02:04:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:02:04:08 - 00:02:06:16 Gerry Mulligan: With, with each other.

00:02:07:13 - 00:02:27:14 Gerry Mulligan: And, lucky for me, you know, when it came time, I had decided to try to write this piece because I’ve done a number of things, in the past playing with orchestras. And I wanted to have something of my own to play. Yeah. mainly because most of the things that other men wrote for me, they they didn’t feel natural to me.

00:02:27:18 - 00:02:34:28 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. And it always involves a great deal of wood shedding to try to, and I don’t I always have to go back and relearn them and I.

00:02:35:00 - 00:02:35:20 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:02:35:23 - 00:02:43:05 Gerry Mulligan: All of those things. So I wanted to play something that, I could forget about myself and just react the way I do when I play with the rhythm section.

00:02:43:07 - 00:02:44:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:02:44:07 - 00:02:51:17 Gerry Mulligan: So. And this, I went to, you know, we spent a lot of time in Italy. Whenever we can. We have an apartment in Milan. Yeah.

00:02:51:17 - 00:02:51:29 Leonard Feather: And,

00:02:52:02 - 00:03:14:22 Gerry Mulligan: And, just when we took the apartment a few years ago, and we’re spending time there, and, as I say, starting, I’m starting to work on it. The man who is one of the, one of the three men who run La Scala, gave me permission to go to the rehearsals at La Scala whenever I wanted him.

00:03:14:24 - 00:03:28:24 Gerry Mulligan: And so I started to go around there. They’d start rehearsals, they, ten in the morning to one. And, while they were working on whatever opera it was while they were there was the start of a season, and they were doing Turandot.

00:03:29:20 - 00:03:53:02 Gerry Mulligan: And Puccini and and that was just that, his most magnificent. You know, it’s like stumbling on something brand new. Because I didn’t know Turin. Not at all. I’ve never paid any attention to opera, you know. Yeah. And hearing that from the ground up, because they started with the orchestra rehearsals with, Lorin Maazel conducting, with an education in orchestration.

00:03:53:09 - 00:03:53:23 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:03:53:28 - 00:04:15:22 Gerry Mulligan: And, he was fearless, man. He would try anything. He had the most, outlandish combinations of instruments. And of course, he knew dramatically what he was about, and he could figure out what the dramatic result would be of combining, unusual, combinations of instruments.

00:04:16:00 - 00:04:16:12 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:04:16:17 - 00:04:24:17 Gerry Mulligan: So that really inspired me. You know, I go there in the morning at the rehearsal and come home, have lunch and and write all afternoon, you know?

00:04:24:19 - 00:04:26:26 Leonard Feather: Yeah. That’s marvelous.

00:04:26:29 - 00:04:55:00 Gerry Mulligan: And then right from that, the other thing they were working on, because they usually do two things at once, they prepared, got tours and that on its feet. And then they were doing, one of Rossini’s lightweight things. and that in a way, of course, is another kind of, orchestration. Yeah. Because, Rossini was just such a marvel of, of being able to translate the, vitality into his writing.

00:04:55:04 - 00:05:01:27 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Simple. you know how those things that flow, you know, it’s got nothing to it.

00:05:02:03 - 00:05:04:07 Leonard Feather: Yeah, well, that’s on the surface.

00:05:04:13 - 00:05:05:04 Gerry Mulligan: That’s the trick.

00:05:05:11 - 00:05:13:02 Leonard Feather: Yeah, right on the surface. Nothing to it. How about the way you incorporated some of your other pieces in that, series?

00:05:13:04 - 00:05:48:09 Gerry Mulligan: Well, the those things were, Harry Friedman had been a friend of mine for years. Yeah. When he he was, when he was playing with the, Toronto Symphony. He always used to come. We used to hang out a lot whenever he. Whenever I was playing in town. and it was always kind of a dream of, that one day he’d write something for me and, went on and on and on, you know, but, he wrote a piece for me that, it was commissioned by the CBC for my 50th birthday.

00:05:48:12 - 00:06:11:11 Gerry Mulligan: and they did it. We did a program up there, and he called it celebration. Oh, well, he was. I had commissioned him to write another piece for me. And when we started talking about, you know, it’s just in the planning stages of what to do. I was always complaining about the fact that there was so little to to play with the orchestra for the saxophone instead of the baritone.

00:06:11:18 - 00:06:14:07 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Repertoire seemed to be nonexistent.

00:06:14:07 - 00:06:15:01 Leonard Feather: Right?

00:06:15:03 - 00:06:35:22 Gerry Mulligan: And I, I was always complaining, a kid, what I wanted to do. Now, in modern times, everything has got to be extremely modern. I said, what I would like to do is to play something like, with Boston, but with Mozart. Yeah, right. Let’s go back a it. So he said, all right, well, let’s let’s think about that.

00:06:35:24 - 00:06:40:21 Gerry Mulligan: And we he and I picked up melodies of mine that.

00:06:40:23 - 00:06:48:13 Leonard Feather: Instead of I’d like to get I recognized some of that, I couldn’t I didn’t have time to identify which they all were. Can you give them to me in order?

00:06:48:15 - 00:06:48:29 Gerry Mulligan: I wonder if.

00:06:48:29 - 00:06:51:26 Leonard Feather: I can or even not in order,

00:06:51:28 - 00:07:02:02 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah, because the, well, I, you know, I kind of like the idea of the titles he put on them because it relates specifically to what we’re trying to do.

00:07:02:03 - 00:07:03:11 Leonard Feather: Yeah, I know.

00:07:03:13 - 00:07:14:24 Gerry Mulligan: And the Bach piece was. So, for instance, I was down on the stairs. that’s why that son on the right. What did I call that in the end?

00:07:14:26 - 00:07:17:08 Leonard Feather: I don’t know. I’m trying to think I am.

00:07:17:15 - 00:07:18:20 Gerry Mulligan: Let me get the album.

00:07:18:23 - 00:07:19:20 Leonard Feather: Yeah, yeah, I.

00:07:19:20 - 00:07:20:05 Gerry Mulligan: Can look at the.

00:07:20:05 - 00:07:22:09 Leonard Feather: Table. Yeah. Good idea.

00:07:22:11 - 00:07:27:26 Gerry Mulligan: I could only I could only find a CD, and I was afraid to have the information inside, but it’s on the outside.

00:07:27:27 - 00:07:28:26 Leonard Feather: Yeah, right.

00:07:28:29 - 00:07:31:22 Gerry Mulligan: You know, I’d call that son on some of the box stairs.

00:07:31:24 - 00:07:33:28 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:07:34:00 - 00:07:42:04 Gerry Mulligan: But, Saxon David’s his garden is, a melody that I never did anything with. I called it Willow when I.

00:07:43:14 - 00:07:50:13 Gerry Mulligan: And aside from playing it for a while with my head, with, you know, I had Dave Samuel and.

00:07:50:15 - 00:07:50:29 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:07:51:00 - 00:07:56:21 Gerry Mulligan: George David. Yeah. Road and garden that, I never did anything with it. Never recorded.

00:07:56:21 - 00:07:59:16 Leonard Feather: It. Oh, I see sax Saxon.

00:07:59:16 - 00:08:03:26 Gerry Mulligan: Mozart minor for that was, festive minor.

00:08:03:28 - 00:08:06:17 Leonard Feather: Mozart. Oh, yeah.

00:08:06:20 - 00:08:32:09 Gerry Mulligan: Sax on the right of your. Harry did his thing on magazine. He was intrigued with the idea that the melody of, song for an Unfinished Woman, reminded him of the devices that, Stravinsky used in Rite of Spring. So he took those and reworked that melody into, a thing. Things like a rearranging, a Rite of Spring.

00:08:32:09 - 00:08:36:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Oh.

00:08:36:07 - 00:08:46:21 Gerry Mulligan: Saxon. Der Rosenkavalier was, It’s three melodies. one is,

00:08:46:24 - 00:08:51:29 Gerry Mulligan: One with, about eight and.

00:08:52:01 - 00:08:54:08 Leonard Feather: I you like me? You can. Can’t remember the titles.

00:08:54:10 - 00:08:57:10 Gerry Mulligan: Yes. That is under a star.

00:08:58:07 - 00:08:59:24 Gerry Mulligan: From the Little Big Horn album.

00:08:59:24 - 00:09:00:21 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:09:00:24 - 00:09:26:05 Gerry Mulligan: And there’s a, a melody that I wrote for that, the show that, Judy Holliday and I did a, a score for Anita Lewis. ultimately, that thing was never produced that it would, we did a couple of performances and, University of Alabama, but outside of that, we never did anything.

00:09:26:05 - 00:09:44:03 Gerry Mulligan: And there was a song on there called, I want something lovely to happen to me. and I had written a thing, as part of that was, supposedly for a ballet sequence that ultimately never got done, you know. But that’s what what that melody was.

00:09:44:06 - 00:09:48:08 Leonard Feather: Oh, you just gave that to Harry to, work on. Yeah.

00:09:48:11 - 00:09:50:08 Gerry Mulligan: Well, I’ve played all of this stuff for you.

00:09:50:08 - 00:09:50:23 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Sure.

00:09:50:24 - 00:10:06:12 Gerry Mulligan: Do a lot of my stuff over the years. Yeah. And then going through the various material to try to find things that would work. So had the kind of a sweep of and reminiscent to him of, Richard Strauss.

00:10:06:18 - 00:10:07:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:10:07:10 - 00:10:09:20 Gerry Mulligan: Waltzes from the Roman Cavalier.

00:10:09:22 - 00:10:10:15 Leonard Feather: and he.

00:10:10:18 - 00:10:16:01 Gerry Mulligan: Orchestrated it very much in that style. And he. Yeah, he just knocked me out. What he did was you should.

00:10:16:01 - 00:10:17:11 Leonard Feather: And,

00:10:17:14 - 00:10:45:16 Gerry Mulligan: And sax on the Rhine is, is a reworking. It’s not recognizable anymore in its original form, except, for the progression and the general feeling of of, Grand Tour from, the existing album. and A walk with Brahms is another new melody that I haven’t recorded in any other, but,

00:10:45:18 - 00:10:47:18 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah. That clarifies.

00:10:49:09 - 00:10:49:20 Leonard Feather: you see.

00:10:49:20 - 00:10:52:17 Gerry Mulligan: That the job he did on those things really.

00:10:52:19 - 00:10:53:02 Leonard Feather: is really.

00:10:53:07 - 00:11:00:02 Gerry Mulligan: The way he approached it. I mean, he didn’t take it on the as a chore. It was something he did with with great enthusiasm.

00:11:00:02 - 00:11:00:22 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:11:00:24 - 00:11:13:29 Gerry Mulligan: And I think it shows, you know, finally, it’s in no way is, you know, a lot of composers I think would, would approach something like that and say, well, all right, I’d say again, you know, that’s what he wants, then I’ll do it.

00:11:14:01 - 00:11:27:03 Leonard Feather: Yeah I know, no, what I said, I think of the review is that the, quite different from the, the, concept of a third stream. This really just, is a natural purity, you know.

00:11:27:05 - 00:11:27:26 Gerry Mulligan: Thank you for.

00:11:27:26 - 00:11:29:21 Leonard Feather: That. It comes together beautifully.

00:11:29:23 - 00:11:42:00 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Because I didn’t think of, think what it was I was doing. I just, was, was trying really more than anything I wanted to write something that was, was fun for the orchestra to play.

00:11:42:01 - 00:11:42:25 Leonard Feather: Sure.

00:11:42:27 - 00:11:55:01 Gerry Mulligan: But it seemed to me that a lot of the attempts to, to combine the elements, it winds up trying to get the, the, Symphony orchestra to play, figures in a way that the jazz musicians would play or bands of.

00:11:55:01 - 00:11:56:26 Leonard Feather: Yeah, which which doesn’t work.

00:11:56:28 - 00:11:59:09 Gerry Mulligan: Doesn’t work. Of course not.

00:11:59:12 - 00:12:02:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah. As I think I also said, it sometimes winds up being the worst of both worlds.

00:12:03:01 - 00:12:05:29 Gerry Mulligan: You have these.

00:12:06:02 - 00:12:10:00 Leonard Feather: So what are the dates you got to do with this? I mean, I was the Houston, the only one so far.

00:12:10:00 - 00:12:20:06 Gerry Mulligan: Oh no, I’ve done a lot of, dates, but in fact, we did one in Los Angeles with Eric conducting a couple of years ago, and which I did two nights at Hollywood Bowl.

00:12:20:09 - 00:12:22:02 Leonard Feather: How the hell did I missed that? I must have been out of town.

00:12:22:03 - 00:12:23:00 Gerry Mulligan: I think you were.

00:12:23:00 - 00:12:29:00 Leonard Feather: Yeah, it was in the summer. yeah, I was probably in or somewhere, I don’t know. Yeah. What else was coming up?

00:12:29:07 - 00:12:41:22 Gerry Mulligan: And, I and we also did, did one in, Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic with Zubin conducting, Oh, man, that was that. He’s such a conductor.

00:12:41:23 - 00:12:42:21 Leonard Feather: That man. Yeah.

00:12:42:23 - 00:12:47:25 Gerry Mulligan: Just I mean, not only, you know, it’s why some conductors are great.

00:12:47:28 - 00:12:48:15 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:12:48:18 - 00:12:53:13 Gerry Mulligan: Did it became such an emotional piece? Yeah. Really? Not me.

00:12:53:16 - 00:12:56:15 Leonard Feather: are there any future dates that I can mention?

00:12:56:17 - 00:13:11:01 Gerry Mulligan: Well, I’m leaving next week for, Stockholm. I know we’re doing with the Stockholm Philharmonic with, Dennis Russell Davies conducting. and I did another, Dennis has done it with me twice now.

00:13:11:04 - 00:13:12:11 Leonard Feather: Dennis. Russell Davies.

00:13:12:11 - 00:13:14:27 Gerry Mulligan: Dennis. Russell Davies. Daddy.

00:13:16:22 - 00:13:23:11 Gerry Mulligan: we did it once, with the American Composers Orchestra at, Alice Tully Hall in New York.

00:13:24:08 - 00:14:01:08 Gerry Mulligan: And, Dennis conducted it another time with, Philadelphia Orchestra and, Saratoga. so I’ve had some really fantastic performances. I did it in, with the Washington Symphony. and as I say, next week we do it with, Stockholm, Philharmonic and then go directly to Stockholm, to Munich. actually go to Salzburg, because we rehearse in Salzburg, the, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, and then we go back to Munich and do the concert.

00:14:01:11 - 00:14:02:25 Leonard Feather: I say.

00:14:02:28 - 00:14:06:03 Gerry Mulligan: I’ve been having really a great time.

00:14:06:06 - 00:14:06:20 Leonard Feather: that’s my.

00:14:06:20 - 00:14:08:09 Gerry Mulligan: First year doing these.

00:14:08:11 - 00:14:12:01 Leonard Feather: do you do you have any other domestic dates after that with,

00:14:12:04 - 00:14:24:04 Gerry Mulligan: Well, let’s see what I’m want to be doing here. I got I’m going to have the quartet, in comfort in New York with, you know, part of the New York Festival.

00:14:24:06 - 00:14:26:02 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:14:26:04 - 00:14:39:05 Gerry Mulligan: And then I’m going to Europe this summer with the big band. Well, there I go. Right from right from the, the date at the 92nd street. Why we go to Glasgow and I’m composer in residence for a week.

00:14:39:07 - 00:14:39:26 Leonard Feather: Okay.

00:14:40:02 - 00:15:00:16 Gerry Mulligan: And so I’m doing, I’m doing a series of concerts there, one with the, Yeah, I just I just heard a voice coach meeting in the kitchen there. Is that the composer in residence at Glasgow? Yeah, right. and I do a quartet concert. I do a.

00:15:00:19 - 00:15:01:28 Leonard Feather: Of the quartet now.

00:15:02:01 - 00:15:10:00 Gerry Mulligan: It’s, well, I have a new piano player named, Bill Charlap.

00:15:10:02 - 00:15:11:05 Leonard Feather: Klp.

00:15:11:05 - 00:15:13:22 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. he moves Charlotte from.

00:15:13:28 - 00:15:15:06 Leonard Feather: No Turning and.

00:15:15:08 - 00:15:20:15 Gerry Mulligan: Wonderful player. I’m really lucky because, you know, Bill Mayes has been with me for the last few years.

00:15:20:15 - 00:15:21:06 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:15:21:09 - 00:15:49:04 Gerry Mulligan: And, he had an accident with his son, which is now healing has really been hard for this boy. Bill. Charlotte is studying with him, and, I was I talked to Bill Mayes today on the phone, thanking him for the work that he did with the young guy because, yeah, he’s, he’s got them all prepared, and he comes in and just plays the hell out of everything, you know?

00:15:49:06 - 00:16:08:14 Gerry Mulligan: And it’s hard for me. I, you know, sometimes we forget how hard it is to break in new players. We get, you hear. And, because of Bill Mays work with him, his, his sense of of how to accompany me and how to work in the ensemble and all that stuff. That’s fantastic. So really happy about that.

00:16:08:16 - 00:16:10:27 Leonard Feather: And, remind me of the others I know.

00:16:11:00 - 00:16:34:02 Gerry Mulligan: Dean Johnson on bass. Yeah. And, what a wonderful player you and I am. And Regina Rhodes has been with me for a long time doing the, the concert in New York, you know, and, but he’s not going on tour with me because he’s been getting busier and busier and arranging and composing out of here.

00:16:34:05 - 00:16:43:17 Gerry Mulligan: an office that he started with a friend, and they’re doing a lot of, TV work. And so he’s he’s kind of phasing himself out.

00:16:43:20 - 00:16:45:00 Leonard Feather: Oh, pretty good,

00:16:45:02 - 00:16:50:21 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. So for this trip, I’m going to take my old buddy Bob Rhodes in Garden Forest.

00:16:50:21 - 00:16:51:02 Leonard Feather: Nice.

00:16:51:02 - 00:16:57:22 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah, he’s going to do the, the the first half of my.

00:16:57:24 - 00:16:59:11 Leonard Feather: of the of Europe tour,

00:16:59:14 - 00:17:14:21 Gerry Mulligan: And do the quartet dates for that date in Verona to start, then to Glasgow, the big band and flies over and join me in Glasgow and we do a concert there. and then we take off for the continent to do, a lot of that in Italy.

00:17:15:26 - 00:17:26:09 Gerry Mulligan: And and because for George Wayne, I’m doing some of the states that I really don’t like to do, but for. I’ll do it. Yeah, I like that Northeast Festival.

00:17:26:11 - 00:17:29:12 Leonard Feather: oh. I know I’ve never been to that. Everybody tells me it’s a madhouse.

00:17:29:18 - 00:17:33:25 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah. It’s like playing and, Merchandise Mart.

00:17:34:00 - 00:17:34:24 Leonard Feather: Yeah, I.

00:17:34:25 - 00:17:39:24 Gerry Mulligan: Know, and, like, there’s something going on all over the place. You know, I, I find it kind of depressing.

00:17:39:24 - 00:17:43:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah, it must be. Well, at least you sound like you have a real good year lined.

00:17:44:01 - 00:17:49:21 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah, we have the. As I did a big band tour and that run for nearly a month.

00:17:49:23 - 00:17:51:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:17:52:00 - 00:18:25:15 Gerry Mulligan: Then, what do I got to do? I’m going to do some quartet dates in the States, out in the Midwest. in October, we have, I think I, I think I moved the tour in Brazil because we. Yeah, I remember that with the Brazil tour we moved, didn’t we? Yeah. January. We go to Australia, and then we’ll probably do that, two weeks in Brazil after that.

00:18:25:17 - 00:18:28:15 Leonard Feather: so, you know, you really said that.

00:18:28:17 - 00:18:39:00 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. yeah. Well, cause I never retired like that when, when Brubeck retired, the next thing you know, he was working more dates than he ever did.

00:18:39:02 - 00:18:56:01 Leonard Feather: Yeah. That’s right. Well, yeah. Same with you, I guess. Yeah. That’s great. Well, I think I got enough material here to make a very interesting piece. And the only thing I have to do is, is there any place and time I could set up a photographer? Because the L.A. times is very fussy about that. They really want to take their own picture.

00:18:56:03 - 00:18:57:23 Leonard Feather: where would they be the next?

00:18:57:24 - 00:19:03:26 Gerry Mulligan: Well, listen, I’m doing a concert on Sunday at Carnegie Hall. That’s the Brown University.

00:19:04:00 - 00:19:10:07 Leonard Feather: That’s a bit late, because, I really need the picture by Friday. Is it possible to do it at your home? Maybe.

00:19:10:10 - 00:19:23:21 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Let’s see. tomorrow I go up to, Rhode Island to rehearse with with this band of Brown University will be back. I’m coming back after this thing. So somebody could come up on a Wednesday or Thursday.

00:19:23:22 - 00:19:27:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah. What is your. I think I have your card, but just give it to me anyway, all right?

00:19:27:08 - 00:19:28:09 Gerry Mulligan: I’m in Darien.

00:19:29:22 - 00:19:30:23 Gerry Mulligan: It’s an hour out in New York.

00:19:31:00 - 00:19:32:18 Leonard Feather: Yeah. What’s the actual address?

00:19:32:20 - 00:19:36:08 Gerry Mulligan: Yes, the address is two Peach Hill Road.

00:19:36:09 - 00:19:40:06 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah, I remember your card. I think you gave it to me on the cruise.

00:19:40:09 - 00:19:41:07 Gerry Mulligan: Right? Yeah.

00:19:41:09 - 00:19:43:10 Leonard Feather: And the number that I’m calling right.

00:19:43:12 - 00:19:44:11 Gerry Mulligan: Here,

00:19:44:14 - 00:19:50:28 Leonard Feather: To 20365586. Right. But let me make it arbitrary time to say, how about 3 p.m. on Wednesday?

00:19:51:05 - 00:19:52:14 Gerry Mulligan: All right. See how it is born.

00:19:52:14 - 00:19:53:16 Leonard Feather: And, that’s all right.

00:19:53:23 - 00:19:55:28 Gerry Mulligan: Hold on a second. Brackett.

00:19:56:00 - 00:19:59:26 Leonard Feather: Come on, Mr. Photographer. Thumbs up. It’s okay. you have to do this.

00:19:59:26 - 00:20:06:00 Unknown Speaker: About because they give us a target for coming up on Wednesday, and we’re here on the phone, right? Yeah.

00:20:06:02 - 00:20:06:16 Gerry Mulligan: Okay.

00:20:06:19 - 00:20:14:11 Leonard Feather: Oh, I guess so. All right. Yeah, fine. Okay, Joe, if you don’t go to the company, the photographer will be there. And, maybe they’ll be okay.

00:20:14:13 - 00:20:18:12 Gerry Mulligan: You know, I often think of your sister, Gwen. If I had such a great time on.

00:20:18:16 - 00:20:20:15 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Know she mentioned to you a couple of times.

00:20:20:15 - 00:20:24:01 Gerry Mulligan: Too, and I. I meant to write to her, but that’s not my strong point.

00:20:24:01 - 00:20:26:12 Leonard Feather: Right. I’ll tell her hello anyway. And get back to.

00:20:26:13 - 00:20:30:20 Gerry Mulligan: The other thing is that, Lorraine sent me a lyric that she wrote.

00:20:30:20 - 00:20:31:09 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:20:31:09 - 00:20:46:28 Gerry Mulligan: And I you know what? I it started me thinking because, you know, it, it it needs work. and so in the process of trying to write down what I wanted to say to where I found myself, writing was like I was writing a small course in lyric writing for.

00:20:46:28 - 00:20:50:11 Leonard Feather: Can I say, what was it? Yeah, I was working on a couple.

00:20:50:17 - 00:21:12:10 Gerry Mulligan: Counter ideas of, of things that she might have done, and things were suggested to me in ways that I thought that she, might have approached the, the written structure and so on. You know what I start reading is it sounded so pompous. You know, I’ve really felt it was a bit much. There’s a chance she may or may have bargained for to get a mini course.

00:21:12:10 - 00:21:13:25 Leonard Feather: And what was what was it called?

00:21:13:25 - 00:21:16:07 Gerry Mulligan: Her? Well, she wrote it on, five Brothers.

00:21:16:10 - 00:21:20:12 Leonard Feather: Oh, that’s right, she told me she would like to. Five brothers? Yeah, I’ll be there.

00:21:20:15 - 00:21:24:25 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. So I kind of hope the next time I get a chance to see her, I have time to go over with.

00:21:24:26 - 00:21:25:24 Leonard Feather: Yeah, I’ll.

00:21:25:27 - 00:21:35:20 Gerry Mulligan: Show her what I wrote. as suggested by the the idea of using five brothers based on her idea and then other ideas that I had.

00:21:35:22 - 00:21:36:14 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:21:36:17 - 00:21:40:03 Gerry Mulligan: To show her direction. She might have gone because I think she has talent.

00:21:40:06 - 00:21:53:19 Leonard Feather: Yeah, she just has an album out with a couple of she does, believe it or not, she did director Rock and and rhythm, which after almost 60 years never had a lyric that they said a beautiful job on Chelsea Bridge with a new title. as soon as sir. Two of it just came up.

00:21:53:20 - 00:21:58:10 Gerry Mulligan: She’s a terrific girl. I really enjoyed working with her on Barry Manilow’s show.

00:21:58:11 - 00:22:00:10 Leonard Feather: Yeah, that was it. I thought the show came off nicely.

00:22:00:10 - 00:22:07:16 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah. I admire what he does. Yeah, there’s the whole thing that he ultimately did with that was like a mini musical.

00:22:07:18 - 00:22:09:21 Leonard Feather: Yeah, it really was. It was.

00:22:09:23 - 00:22:14:09 Gerry Mulligan: And he’s he’s a pleasure to work with us. Yeah, a serious musician. Yeah.

00:22:14:14 - 00:22:15:16 Leonard Feather: Answer to the same thing.

00:22:15:17 - 00:22:24:15 Gerry Mulligan: The Aztec. Yeah. Very, very easy to work with. it’s been a very pleasant association. Yeah. That’s great. Well, so give, give Lorraine my best.

00:22:24:16 - 00:22:24:27 Leonard Feather: I sure.

00:22:24:27 - 00:22:25:08 Gerry Mulligan: Will.

00:22:25:08 - 00:22:29:21 Leonard Feather: And, And Jane and Jane, the whole family. The whole family.

00:22:29:27 - 00:22:31:13 Gerry Mulligan: Okay, Jerry, take care, take care.

00:22:31:13 - 00:22:45:22 Leonard Feather: Bye bye.

00:22:45:25 - 00:22:46:27 Leonard Feather: Okay. How are you doing?

00:22:46:28 - 00:22:47:18 Gerry Mulligan: I’m fine.

00:22:47:22 - 00:23:00:09 Leonard Feather: Good. Well, we have a lot of time to catch up on. I haven’t seen in so long. Right. It has been a long three year. What brings you to vine Street? You have a particular show you’re doing? No, no, no. Nothing in particular to, I get back to.

00:23:00:09 - 00:23:05:28 Gerry Mulligan: California, get there a long time. I got a lot of shows I want to, I’ve been writing Christmas for, you know.

00:23:06:00 - 00:23:10:08 Leonard Feather: Well, the last show on the biography that I got was, sliced up. Well, when was that?

00:23:10:10 - 00:23:11:17 Gerry Mulligan: When I was here before that.

00:23:11:17 - 00:23:16:26 Leonard Feather: And, what was that? Just in New York?

00:23:16:28 - 00:23:20:13 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah, that was just a little club in New York. I did really,

00:23:20:15 - 00:23:21:20 Leonard Feather: I have I’ve had some bigger.

00:23:21:20 - 00:23:22:17 Gerry Mulligan: Ones than that.

00:23:24:15 - 00:23:28:29 Gerry Mulligan: Is, main was not really interested in trying to push.

00:23:29:01 - 00:23:29:28 Leonard Feather: Which one.

00:23:30:00 - 00:23:32:03 Gerry Mulligan: Was called great nitty gritty.

00:23:32:07 - 00:23:42:22 Leonard Feather: Oh that’s not oh yeah. That’s listed here right. well, is that you said that did play in McCormick place, right? Yes, in Saint Louis. In Milwaukee?

00:23:42:29 - 00:23:43:14 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah.

00:23:43:17 - 00:23:48:10 Leonard Feather: I’m on the phone. but you can try to revive it,

00:23:48:12 - 00:23:49:10 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yes.

00:23:49:13 - 00:23:55:04 Leonard Feather: Oh, I see, in L.A., I bet you play in Los Angeles. Well, I would like to.

00:23:55:04 - 00:24:09:24 Gerry Mulligan: Get, Robert Townsend interested in it, and the movie of Chicago and, well, I heard that he expressed an interest in doing, something musical about young people. Wanted to give you dynamite for doing that.

00:24:10:02 - 00:24:15:15 Leonard Feather: Oh. That’s interesting. Yeah. Does this have a storyline? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

00:24:15:17 - 00:24:23:23 Gerry Mulligan: It’s, concerns the, situation in which, to solve the first,

00:24:23:25 - 00:24:30:07 Leonard Feather: settlements. yeah, I know, James Robinson. I forgot his first name. So family. So. Yeah.

00:24:30:10 - 00:24:44:08 Gerry Mulligan: Was probably right. Yeah. He was, peacemaker among the Indians at the time. Yeah. And, he constellation as a statue of him comes to life with some kids that have had, gang war.

00:24:44:10 - 00:24:44:16 Leonard Feather: in.

00:24:44:16 - 00:25:10:04 Gerry Mulligan: Chicago. And he, in this victim of this shooting as, to assist him in peacemaking, making the kids come up positive. They go on. The whole thing is about an odyssey that they take around Chicago to evaluate the city and its attention. As far as this young person, sir. actually, the young man comes up negative, but the whole thing has a very.

00:25:10:04 - 00:25:12:28 Leonard Feather: Positive, the message,

00:25:13:01 - 00:25:14:03 Gerry Mulligan: Outlook to it.

00:25:14:05 - 00:25:27:18 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Well, how many shows have you written all together, Isaac. It seems like there must be a lot of them. Yeah, about a dozen. yeah. Which would be, which you thought was the biggest success of the longest run.

00:25:27:20 - 00:25:28:24 Gerry Mulligan: Well, I’ve had.

00:25:28:24 - 00:25:31:28 Leonard Feather: Some songs called Joy. Joy 66.

00:25:32:05 - 00:25:36:04 Gerry Mulligan: 66, and then 1 in 69 got even longer than that.

00:25:36:07 - 00:25:40:29 Leonard Feather: that was mainly in Chicago as well. No, 36 is in Chicago.

00:25:41:01 - 00:25:55:14 Gerry Mulligan: Oh. Except for one performance out in the, Central Park in New York. but, the other one started in San Francisco and then went to New York and wound up in Chicago. I played for six months in New York, and then three months in each of the other two cities.

00:25:55:17 - 00:26:01:15 Leonard Feather: That was audience. Okay. That’s correct. Yeah, I see, yeah.

00:26:01:18 - 00:26:06:26 Gerry Mulligan: And, come back home and probably yeah.

00:26:06:29 - 00:26:12:03 Leonard Feather: You know, he’s back there now along with Kix and company last.

00:26:12:06 - 00:26:21:18 Gerry Mulligan: Keep him company. Well, that lasted only about four days. Then I had a couple of times and once at Columbia College. yeah, a couple of years ago.

00:26:21:21 - 00:26:25:04 Leonard Feather: That had a lot of publicity at the time. Oh, boy.

00:26:25:06 - 00:26:28:25 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, we did it back in the day program.

00:26:28:27 - 00:26:38:06 Leonard Feather: Oh, that’s right here. Yeah, but it didn’t, it only never made it to Broadway. No. Was that your biggest disappointment?

00:26:38:08 - 00:26:40:24 Gerry Mulligan: Well, I know it was my first.

00:26:40:26 - 00:26:42:05 Leonard Feather: First of many.

00:26:42:08 - 00:26:45:09 Gerry Mulligan: it was first, but. Yeah, for nothing, but.

00:26:45:16 - 00:26:46:07 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:26:46:10 - 00:26:47:16 Gerry Mulligan: That’s showbiz.

00:26:47:19 - 00:26:54:10 Leonard Feather: Well, that’s right, but you haven’t given up. And, So what are you going to be doing? Advisory. Just singing.

00:26:54:13 - 00:26:54:29 Gerry Mulligan: Well, yeah.

00:26:54:29 - 00:27:07:26 Leonard Feather: Just singing. a lot of stuff that I bought. which is your biggest, would you say that All Blues is turned out to be a biggest thing? Oh, true, because there’s a lot of records on it now.

00:27:07:28 - 00:27:09:11 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah, and I never hear any money.

00:27:09:16 - 00:27:10:15 Leonard Feather: Oh, really?

00:27:10:17 - 00:27:11:16 Gerry Mulligan: Oh.

00:27:11:18 - 00:27:12:20 Leonard Feather: That’s very strange.

00:27:13:11 - 00:27:18:08 Leonard Feather: But yeah, because, you know, I heard another somebody else had one out there that I didn’t know.

00:27:18:10 - 00:27:19:10 Gerry Mulligan: Anything because.

00:27:19:13 - 00:27:24:22 Leonard Feather: That’s the one I was thinking of. It just came out. Yeah, it’s got your name on it, and, it’s quite long.

00:27:24:25 - 00:27:25:17 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah.

00:27:25:20 - 00:27:29:06 Leonard Feather: Well, what do you get? My name works. most of it comes.

00:27:29:06 - 00:27:40:03 Gerry Mulligan: From works, and, but but I was cool. I just did some commercials, but I was groovy. But those are revised that. I mean, it’s seven different versions.

00:27:40:06 - 00:27:41:11 Leonard Feather: for.

00:27:41:14 - 00:27:47:05 Gerry Mulligan: couple of them for the New York market, one for Detroit and the rest of the other for we decided to make.

00:27:47:07 - 00:27:47:13 Leonard Feather: that’s.

00:27:47:13 - 00:27:56:21 Gerry Mulligan: All different stories. you know, but I was doing great stories. so that was a pretty good moneymaker for. For that reason.

00:27:56:24 - 00:27:58:14 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Works.

00:27:58:17 - 00:28:04:15 Gerry Mulligan: the snake does pretty good.

00:28:04:18 - 00:28:12:25 Leonard Feather: I’m on. Well, how long since you made an album? That long? Well.

00:28:12:28 - 00:28:16:17 Gerry Mulligan: Long. And. Yeah, it’s a long time. I got very depressed record.

00:28:16:19 - 00:28:25:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah, well, you had some disappointments. I don’t for any of them. Still on the market. soon, so. Oh, it is, it’s.

00:28:25:05 - 00:28:29:00 Gerry Mulligan: Been on the market about 25 years, but I have never got a nickel from it.

00:28:29:02 - 00:28:30:09 Leonard Feather: No kidding.

00:28:30:12 - 00:28:34:04 Gerry Mulligan: the, windows contract, you know.

00:28:34:06 - 00:28:35:19 Leonard Feather: You mean artist royalties?

00:28:35:21 - 00:28:36:23 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah.

00:28:36:25 - 00:28:37:09 Leonard Feather: this year, I.

00:28:37:09 - 00:28:42:11 Gerry Mulligan: Don’t know about loan shark operation.

00:28:42:13 - 00:28:49:08 Leonard Feather: That’s right for you. So we should be back on, right? What about Jean pace? Is she still with you?

00:28:49:10 - 00:29:03:24 Leonard Feather: but you were together professionally and personally for a long time. Yeah, for 25 years. That long? My goodness. Wow. Well, But, who was that? Who was the mother of David Brown, baby?

00:29:03:26 - 00:29:05:02 Gerry Mulligan: her name is Irene.

00:29:05:06 - 00:29:08:01 Leonard Feather: That’s your first name?

00:29:08:03 - 00:29:09:23 Gerry Mulligan: And your.

00:29:09:26 - 00:29:15:22 Leonard Feather: you’re not married, Yeah. who’s coming up with you?

00:29:15:24 - 00:29:19:18 Gerry Mulligan: my son, asked to play bass with me.

00:29:19:21 - 00:29:22:12 Leonard Feather: Oh. No kidding. I don’t know how old is he?

00:29:22:15 - 00:29:24:07 Gerry Mulligan: 31 as well.

00:29:24:07 - 00:29:28:17 Leonard Feather: Right. anybody else? You got a pianist or a drummer?

00:29:28:19 - 00:29:43:22 Gerry Mulligan: Might bring a pianist. I’m not sure I’m going to be working here in Chicago this weekend, with Calvin Bronson. And if it’s possible for him to get loose, we might come. Otherwise we might. I might just go with the group. We’ve been working together.

00:29:43:24 - 00:29:57:04 Leonard Feather: Oh, I see, well, and just running with, for a second, I’m just looking through this biography. What was the last thing of any consequence you did on television?

00:29:57:06 - 00:29:59:12 Gerry Mulligan: Jump Street from Jump Street.

00:29:59:14 - 00:30:00:19 Leonard Feather: how long ago was I going.

00:30:00:19 - 00:30:00:27 Gerry Mulligan: To the.

00:30:00:27 - 00:30:03:11 Leonard Feather: Series there? Yeah, I remember that.

00:30:03:14 - 00:30:06:12 Gerry Mulligan: how long? 83. 84.

00:30:06:15 - 00:30:17:11 Leonard Feather: I’m not eating. I rather, you know, that sort of sport spun off some other things. Isn’t that.

00:30:17:14 - 00:30:20:22 Gerry Mulligan: to my tomorrow. All right, let’s get another.

00:30:24:11 - 00:30:29:01 Leonard Feather: Well, What was what? Where was raised in canton.

00:30:29:03 - 00:30:39:29 Gerry Mulligan: At, Chicago State University. That’s part of it. trilogy. I don’t drink first place. based on the book of Genesis.

00:30:40:02 - 00:30:41:04 Leonard Feather: Oh, I see what I’ve.

00:30:41:04 - 00:30:45:15 Gerry Mulligan: Called in the beginning. Rather. Cain second, and covenant, sir.

00:30:45:16 - 00:30:48:29 Leonard Feather: Third, what prevalent covenant? Oh, covenant.

00:30:49:01 - 00:30:51:25 Gerry Mulligan: covenant between Abraham and,

00:30:51:28 - 00:30:55:13 Leonard Feather: Oh. I see what happened to that.

00:30:55:15 - 00:30:56:08 Gerry Mulligan: You have to.

00:30:56:15 - 00:31:02:01 Leonard Feather: Let me know. Was there? I’m gonna be bringing all this stuff with me. I sent folks out to.

00:31:02:07 - 00:31:05:20 Gerry Mulligan: Hollywood. Just, anticipation of the trip.

00:31:05:22 - 00:31:06:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:31:06:08 - 00:31:07:13 Gerry Mulligan: And,

00:31:07:15 - 00:31:10:02 Leonard Feather: That was you have all these scripts to bring out? Yeah, I have to.

00:31:10:02 - 00:31:10:23 Gerry Mulligan: I’m crafting.

00:31:10:23 - 00:31:11:04 Leonard Feather: Script.

00:31:11:05 - 00:31:20:06 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah, that I’m going to try and, Yeah. Get you into Hollywood and, and Broadway. I did that on burden by the book. Yeah.

00:31:20:08 - 00:31:27:01 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Well, I certainly wish you luck. How’s it been? any kind of a handicap being based in Chicago. Doesn’t that make too much difference?

00:31:27:06 - 00:31:34:18 Gerry Mulligan: I have to face the Chicago. I have to face that. Yeah. I’ve lived in in Washington a while, and I was doing just, you.

00:31:34:18 - 00:31:36:15 Leonard Feather: Know, it’s been a couple of years there.

00:31:36:18 - 00:31:42:29 Gerry Mulligan: and, that, long time up in San Francisco.

00:31:43:02 - 00:31:44:17 Leonard Feather: Oh, that’s right, I did, I mean, you know.

00:31:44:17 - 00:31:47:22 Gerry Mulligan: And, and, and, I’ve lived in Hollywood there for a while.

00:31:47:27 - 00:31:49:03 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:31:49:05 - 00:31:55:06 Gerry Mulligan: So I haven’t really been based in Chicago enough to say that that’s been a handicap.

00:31:55:09 - 00:31:56:02 Leonard Feather: know.

00:31:56:05 - 00:32:07:22 Gerry Mulligan: Show business, the general nature of show business, and, for, for a playwright. And then I guess, you know, however once that twice I attitude it I took.

00:32:07:25 - 00:32:09:25 Leonard Feather: You know, is, largely.

00:32:09:25 - 00:32:18:14 Gerry Mulligan: Responsible for the fact that I have really, been satisfied with what has happened. I hope that.

00:32:18:17 - 00:32:24:06 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Well, you’ve done an awful lot of work with, not appropriate rewards. I would think.

00:32:24:08 - 00:32:48:17 Gerry Mulligan: Well, you know, to a certain extent, I never. I never can tell, though, you know, sometimes it’s. Who knows what it would have meant. I’ve done some things that had I had money, I would have done, like, great many critics, you know. But that was a very satisfying thing to have done. I did a show with some going back here called the Blackstone Ranch.

00:32:48:17 - 00:33:04:03 Gerry Mulligan: Its opportunities. what I was, those are the things I really got turned on, but, yeah, I don’t think I would have done those had they been more successful. I would have been around. I wouldn’t have taken that time.

00:33:04:05 - 00:33:04:22 Leonard Feather: Yeah, but.

00:33:04:22 - 00:33:07:08 Gerry Mulligan: Having done so, I’m really pleased that I did.

00:33:07:15 - 00:33:07:25 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:33:07:28 - 00:33:10:15 Gerry Mulligan: And it turned me on to another.

00:33:10:15 - 00:33:12:05 Leonard Feather: Whole possibility.

00:33:12:07 - 00:33:16:25 Gerry Mulligan: That has yet to really pay off. I have high hopes that it will.

00:33:16:27 - 00:33:24:21 Leonard Feather: Yeah. In other words, it had the the artistic potential and it may show the economic potential later. Yeah, exactly.

00:33:24:21 - 00:33:40:08 Gerry Mulligan: You know that and that it could be economic potential is really what I was, aiming at because the whole purpose of the show was to discover talent. Yeah. In those situations that could be self-sustaining.

00:33:41:03 - 00:34:05:07 Gerry Mulligan: If you just give it a chance and given the format, and which means that it’s up and in each year that happens. But, society in general around excuse is not ready to take years for an answer. when we get rave reviews up here, from across the country, some kind of a very.

00:34:05:10 - 00:34:06:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:34:06:07 - 00:34:13:10 Gerry Mulligan: but, Nobody supported that. We wound up.

00:34:13:12 - 00:34:14:05 Leonard Feather: Actually without a.

00:34:14:08 - 00:34:15:10 Gerry Mulligan: Producer.

00:34:15:12 - 00:34:17:04 Leonard Feather: Without a producer, without a producer.

00:34:17:04 - 00:34:40:08 Gerry Mulligan: But, you know, it winds up. I’m the writer. So then I’m the producer. but I not producer. Yeah, you know that that’s a whole, that requires a great deal of talent that I don’t have. just this kind of thing. Yeah, most do that. I can’t be responsible for that.

00:34:40:11 - 00:34:42:28 Leonard Feather: Right. Quite often I find that.

00:34:42:28 - 00:34:48:06 Gerry Mulligan: Well. And nobody. Schubert’s. I got to do it. Whoever, I don’t know.

00:34:48:09 - 00:34:49:02 Leonard Feather: They have.

00:34:49:04 - 00:34:50:19 Gerry Mulligan: To practice doing it.

00:34:50:19 - 00:34:51:29 Leonard Feather: Or. Yeah, there’s.

00:34:51:29 - 00:35:19:26 Gerry Mulligan: No David Berry to work with. You know, there’s nothing happened like that. I don’t know any, producer. I don’t know any your producers, particularly, who have been sympathetic to the kinds of things that I do know. I have to contend that I’ve exhausted everything because I don’t I haven’t, what I’m saying this. A guy has won a prize.

00:35:20:01 - 00:35:22:17 Gerry Mulligan: Fences. I think he’s got another show back on.

00:35:22:19 - 00:35:23:13 Leonard Feather: Who was that?

00:35:23:15 - 00:35:42:11 Gerry Mulligan: But I forget his name. But, you know, there are a lot there are a number of things to being done, and, I’m sure that are part of the reason that some of the things that I had hoped had, is just that I have sold it in the right way.

00:35:42:14 - 00:35:44:12 Leonard Feather: Yeah. have you saw that?

00:35:44:12 - 00:35:45:17 Gerry Mulligan: I’m trying to correct that.

00:35:45:17 - 00:35:51:08 Leonard Feather: There are a lot of very good. I mean, did you see mine is black bottom?

00:35:51:11 - 00:35:52:06 Gerry Mulligan: no.

00:35:52:09 - 00:36:03:29 Leonard Feather: what if it was? Say it again, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. No, that was very interesting show. That was well done. Yes, I heard it. Was that. Yeah, he’s a good writer. And there was, you know, good singing. And that’s what he went away with.

00:36:03:29 - 00:36:06:19 Gerry Mulligan: That’s, that’s, No, no. Right.

00:36:06:21 - 00:36:13:21 Leonard Feather: Wilson was name. I’m Brian Milner. no, that’s that’s not his name. I can’t remember, but, yeah, but I heard that was.

00:36:13:21 - 00:36:18:07 Gerry Mulligan: A very good show. I think that’s where I was,

00:36:18:09 - 00:36:19:12 Leonard Feather: Not necessary, but there.

00:36:19:12 - 00:36:25:22 Gerry Mulligan: Have been another good one in in New York. Now, about South African kids. Highly recommended.

00:36:25:25 - 00:36:26:27 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:36:26:29 - 00:36:30:10 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah.

00:36:30:12 - 00:36:43:04 Leonard Feather: Incidentally, I got two press releases and the the conflict. One of them says that you raised $40,000 for kicks. And how many others says 400,000, which doesn’t sound it. Was it really? My God. Well, what, What happened to it?

00:36:43:06 - 00:36:47:24 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, I didn’t spend it. I mean, you know, the producers would have to answer that.

00:36:47:29 - 00:36:50:23 Leonard Feather: Yeah, because that, number of the next.

00:36:50:23 - 00:36:57:04 Gerry Mulligan: Day, the next, I raised $400,000. I said to myself, yeah, how fantastic.

00:36:57:11 - 00:36:59:13 Leonard Feather: Was that number? I found out the look of.

00:36:59:15 - 00:37:00:14 Gerry Mulligan: that I for.

00:37:00:15 - 00:37:04:05 Leonard Feather: I mean, to look over here. My goodness.

00:37:04:08 - 00:37:09:01 Gerry Mulligan: So that down 400,000. But that was back when was $1,000 a real money.

00:37:09:03 - 00:37:19:00 Leonard Feather: I went down the drain. 40 says amazing. Well, what was it in Chicago at McCormick? Oh of course. Yeah. Right.

00:37:19:05 - 00:37:24:26 Gerry Mulligan: That that was in very crowded theater. I was like the first thing that was ever done there.

00:37:24:28 - 00:37:25:29 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:37:26:01 - 00:37:28:02 Gerry Mulligan: For I really think.

00:37:28:04 - 00:37:28:16 Leonard Feather: They had a whole.

00:37:28:16 - 00:37:30:24 Gerry Mulligan: Bunch of problems.

00:37:30:26 - 00:37:42:14 Leonard Feather: Well, all I can say is, I certainly admire perseverance and your talent. And I wish you luck. I hope something good happens while you’re out here. Are you going to be able to come over? Oh, certainly. The opening on the eighth, isn’t it?

00:37:42:17 - 00:37:43:25 Gerry Mulligan: not 30 13th.

00:37:43:25 - 00:37:51:08 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah. I’ve got a window. I have some in the paper before then, for sure. You’re there for a few days. for it. Yeah. And then we’re going right. Number one.

00:37:51:10 - 00:37:52:24 Gerry Mulligan: probably going back home.

00:37:52:26 - 00:37:53:18 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:37:53:20 - 00:37:58:01 Gerry Mulligan: Yeah. I was going to go up the center system in the city. Perhaps there’s quicken May.

00:37:58:03 - 00:38:05:13 Leonard Feather: Oh come on. Yeah, I would love that because you come here. Well never knows. Yeah.

00:38:05:13 - 00:38:06:28 Gerry Mulligan: They always say that. Yeah.

00:38:06:29 - 00:38:12:15 Leonard Feather: So you’re not going to make it a very, very busy four days in the daytime and, you know, make all your contacts. Oh yeah.

00:38:12:15 - 00:38:14:27 Gerry Mulligan: Well I’m going to, I’m going to come in a little early.

00:38:15:03 - 00:38:15:14 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:38:15:14 - 00:38:17:27 Gerry Mulligan: And, press the over here.

00:38:17:29 - 00:38:18:10 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:38:18:10 - 00:38:20:06 Gerry Mulligan: And then I’m going to hang out a little bit.

00:38:20:08 - 00:38:30:10 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Now listen, also, I have to get somebody to take a photograph of you. Yeah. You said that, I have to, set that up. Well, that, will you be there for a couple of days?

00:38:30:13 - 00:38:31:03 Gerry Mulligan: Oh, yeah.

00:38:31:05 - 00:38:41:03 Leonard Feather: I think what I’ll do is two days running over the weekend. You were on performing.