Dec
13
2008
Maytag – Gerry Mulligan
Author: Rick• From “The Age of Steam” Amazon.com
There’s a lot to enjoy on this 1971 recording but one thing stands out every time I listen to it – the entrances by the soloists. Sure, creative, uncomplicated but interesting.
Amateurs often have a problem starting a solo. Often the entrance is a few hesitant, stumbling notes, the musical equivalent of conversational “uhmmm” or “well, let’s see. . .”, killing time until something useful comes to mind. Or there’s a great flurry of notes, typically an well-rehearsed lick or scale. This is the “wow, listen to me” beginning, which normally results in the soloist realizing “Oh oh, just blew my best stuff – now what do I do?”. Or there’s a bombastic couple of notes announcing “I’m a trombone (trumpet, pick your favorite instrument), and I can play real loud!”.
Maytag provides a good lesson in how to do it right. The first great entrance, right after the head, isn’t really a solo. It’s Howard Roberts doing a great sixteenth note chordal figure on guitar that truly sets up the feel for the piece. You have to wonder if he was responding to the name of the tune or the name came after he played this part. He comes in solidly, does an interesting but simple chord melody turn, then just sets it down for the soloists to come. (Apparently the tune reflects young Mulligan listening to his mother’s washing machine.)
First in is Mulligan. No hesitation here, a nice scalar figure. Next is Bob Brookmeyer with a short chromatic figure. Again simple but interesting. It almost sounds modal. Tom Scott’s entry on soprano echos the ending of Brookmeyer’s solo, a little phrase playing on the 5th of the chord. A classic entry that eases the listener in to the change in instrument by repeating what came before.
Scott’s solo is pretty busy, so Roger Kellaway opens with a very unclutterd phrase, a nice contrast. Like all those before, he knows what he want to say before he starts and doesn’t clutter his solo at the beginning, giving it room to develop.
The whole album is great. It was reissued in 2004 but is still hard to find, a shame because it is a terrific work.
If you can get hold of Artisthouse Music’s DVD release of The Age of Steam, get it! It includes printable arrangements for all the tracks of all the tracks, interviews with other musicians from the recording including Brookmeyer, Scott and Kellaway, a Hal Leonard masterclass by Mulligan and an hour-long video documentary about Mulligan.
An original hand-written score of Maytag is available at the US LIbrary of Congress web site. Unfortunately this isn’t the same arrangement. The date on the score is January 1986, so it may be a later big band adaptation. Most of Mulligan’s scores are available through the Library of Congress.
The Age of Steam is also the title of a great video of Mulligan’s career, viewable at the artistshouse Music web site.
