Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and arranger Gerry Mulligan was born on
April 6, 1927 in Queens, New York. His father’s engineer job led to the band
moving quite frequently. While attending high school in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, he founded a school big band and wrote the musical arrangements.
At the age of 16, he was approached by a local radio station to write
arrangements for their house band. This led to him dropping out of school and
pursuing a career as a musician. After a few high-profile gigs, he returned to
New York and, in 1948, he was recruited into Miles D...