The complete master takes by Gerry Mulligan's original 1952-53 mostly piano-less quartet with Chet Baker. These recordings would prove enormously influential and set the groundwork for many other groups. One of the factors that made the quartet special was the absence of the piano from the rhythm section, which usually consisted of piano, bass and drums. The lack of the piano gave the bass more liberties with the harmony, and also presented the horns with more space to improvise. All of their recordings together from that period are on this 2-CD set.