Mulligan, Baritone Bard; Threadgill, Alto Innovator

GERRY MULLIGAN

“Dragonfly”

Telarc

* * * 1/2

Mulligan the composer, Mulligan the arranger and Mulligan the baritone saxophonist are inextricably intertwined in this lovely collection of multi-hued, autumnal music. Always one of the prolific melodists in jazz, he has come up with an appealing group of musically sophisticated, emotionally layered compositions, and balanced them with his superb soloing and some of his first extensive orchestrating in years.

There are some particularly exquisite moments in the quieter works--the moody, suspended harmonies of “Listening to Astor,” the bright playful line on “Ninth Life”--in which Mulligan works with rhythm section accompaniment alone. On other tracks, he is backed by a brass ensemble with solo interjections by saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. (playing with great warmth and delicacy on the title piece), pianist Dave Grusin, guitarist John Scofield, vibist Dave Samuels and trumpeter Ryan Kisor.

It is, to put it simply, an abundance of musical riches--one of Mulligan’s finest outings in years--and marred only by inadequate, uninformed program notes that fail to give details about the music or the artists.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).