Jazz
Recorded 1956-57
Mick Mulligan (tp)
Dave Keir (tb)
Ian Christie (cl)
Ronnie Duff (pno)
Nevil Skrimshire (gtr)
Tom Page (bs)
Pete Appleby (dms)
George Melly (vc)
Frankie Parr (tb)
Terry Forster (bs)
Alan Duddington (bs)
Major Holley (bs)
Wally Fawkes (cl)
Some of these recording described the Mulligan band as "hardly a technically assured or polished band, the essence of the Mick Mulligan combination is a rough vital enthusiasm for the music". There is enough technical know-how here to tackle the material and a fair amount of polish. These are well-rehearsed pieces with attention paid to the arrangements. Generally the recording quality is good which helps. -Paul Adams 2001 --- "The word 'rave', meaning to live it up was a Mulligan-Godbolt invention. It took several forms. The verb as above, 'a rave' meaning a party where you raved, and 'a raver', i.e. one who raved as much as possible. An article once described Mick as 'The King of the Ravers'." Thus wrote George Melly in his autobiography 'Owning Up'.
Mick Mulligan & His Jazz Band
The early life and times of Peter Sidney Mulligan (''Mick'' to his many friends and fans) bear a close resemblance to those of fellow-trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton: public school, then commissioned service in a prestigious regiment, followed by a swift move into bandleading. Educated at Old Merchant Taylor''s School, Mulligan served as an officer in the Rifle Bridge, then after demobilisation in 1948 started to gig around London before forming his first Magnolia Jazz Band. Mulligan''s very first band was in the classic jazz revival mould with tuba and, Yerba Buena-like, two banjos, playing a repertoire based around the Oliver/Armstrong twenties output. By the early fifties, however, the band''s style and repertoire had moved toward a looser, Condon-type ''Dixieland'' with guitar and string bass, and that''s about where it stayed until the end (Mulligan was even nicknamed ''The Conductor'' by the band, as was Condon himself). The exuberant leader had a tone and phrasing that paid homage to later-period Louis (Mick''s idol since adolescence) but frequently with overtones of Wild Bill Davison''s more boisterous side. He was a powerful player and cold certainly swing a band. - Mike Durham |
