Top 29 Quotes by Gerry Mulligan

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

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

You can make a saxophone into an electric organ; you can do everything with it.

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

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.

The other saxophones, except as solo instruments, really don't have much point in the orchestra.

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.

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

I've appeared on some other people's albums.

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