CONCERT

As part of the activities of IartNET – an international platform for artistic research and cultural heritage at Italian higher arts education institutions – the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera announces the concert O Great Spirit – Celebrating Gerry Mulligan represents the culminating moment of the Azione Mulligan series (13–15, 18 March 2026), promoted by the Conservatorio Luca Marenzio.

More than a simple tribute to a jazz legend, this concert offers a true musical portrait that captures the extraordinary artistic complexity of Gerry Mulligan. Thanks to the research conducted by musicologist Luca Bragalini at the Library of Congress in Washington, which preserves the Gerry Mulligan Collection, the audience will have the opportunity to hear previously unpublished works performed for the very first time, as well as to discover lesser-known aspects of the great American musician: Mulligan not only as a leading figure in jazz, but also as a refined songwriter, often writing his own lyrics, a film composer, and a creator of pieces with a striking and captivating Latin color.

The first half of the concert features a big band conducted by Corrado Guarino, who also arranged part of the repertoire. On stage will be some of Italy’s most prominent jazz performers — Paolino Dalla Porta, Giovanni Falzone, Boris Savoldelli, Guido Bombardieri, Stefano Bertoli, and Fabio Giachino — accompanied by international special guest Javier Girotto, who will “step into the musical shoes” of Mulligan.

In the second half, another facet of Mulligan as a composer emerges: his interest in symphonic music. This section will be led by saxophonist Mario Marzi, an internationally acclaimed performer, together with the STU.D.I.O Orchestra of the Conservatorio “Luca Marenzio”.

The two worlds — jazz and symphonic, improvisation and composition — converge in the final piece, O Great Spirit, which gives the concert its title and conveys a more intimate and spiritual dimension of Mulligan in his maturity.

The Azione Mulligan series also included a masterclass with scholar and bassist Alyn Shipton and the international research conference Discovering Gerry Mulligan, featuring presentations by scholars and performers such as Stefano Zenni and Mario Marzi (13–14 March). The series presented the concert O Great Spirit – Celebrating Gerry Mulligan on 15 March at the Palazzo dei Congressi di Darfo Boario Terme, prior to the concluding event on 18 March at the Teatro Grande in Brescia.

IartNET Research Unit Lead Conservatoire “Luca Marenzio” of Brescia: Marcello Mazzetti

Information:

Conservatoire “Luca Marenzio” of Brescia
www.consbs.it  ufficiostampa@consbs.it