Spring In Stockholm: Live In Sweden, 1959

Gerry Mulligan, appearing with the Night Lights band in the midst of a scorching European tour of 1959. This superb quartet features Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax and piano, Art Farmer on trumpet, Bill Crow on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums. The band are at the peak of their powers, and these stunning recordings are vital in confirming Mulligan’s band as one of the hottest outfits of the time.

Working alongside the Swedish National Radio Archives and the Gerry Mulligan Estate, we managed to locate the original master tapes from inside the Sveriges Radio vault and transfer them to Kevin Gray, who worked his usual magic in mastering and cutting, giving these previously unreleased recordings incredible sonic scope. The newly created cover art was designed by regular New Land collaborators, Two To Tango, offering a superb modernist look. Manufactured at Pallas and printed in reverse-board sleeves on 180gm vinyl, this is an important addition to any collection.

Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan was a true icon of jazz, being one of the prominent figures in the West Coast scene through the ‘50s all the way until his death in 1996. Voted number one musician in his instrument by Downbeat Magazine for 42 years in a row, Mulligan was one of the key players of his time and a figurehead who helped shape the sound of jazz to come. From periods in the Birth Of The Cool era Miles Davis lineup as well as forming a piano-less quartet with Chet Baker, Gerry was always on the frontline of what was hip and happening in America’s one true art form.