California Concerts

California Concerts
Live album by
Released1955
RecordedNovember 12 and December 14, 1954
Stockton High School, Stockton, CA and Hoover High School, San Diego, CA
GenreJazz
LabelPacific Jazz
ProducerRichard Bock
Gerry Mulligan chronology
Paris Concert
(1954)
California Concerts
(1955)
Presenting the Gerry Mulligan Sextet
(1955)

California Concerts (also referred to as Jazz Goes to High School) is a live album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded at the Stockton High School and Hoover High School in California in late 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.[1][2] The original LP was the first 12 inch LP to be released on the Pacific Jazz label in 1955. The Gerry Mulligan feature track "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" with Bob Brookmeyer on piano was first released on the compilation LP The Genius of Gerry Mulligan in 1960. Although the tracks were recorded at a high school, recording took place on weekends and in the evening. Chet Baker was originally chosen to be the trumpet player of the session, but was jailed for his ongoing heroin addiction, so trumpeter Jon Eardley took Baker’s place sounding very similar to Baker.

  1. ^ Pacific Jazz Records Catalog: 1200 series accessed February 29, 2016
  2. ^ Gerry Mulligan Discography Archived April 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine accessed February 29, 2016