Charles Mingus Music

This is a terrific C.D. with great solos and arrangements. Peggy's Blue Skyline is a great example of the trio's power with a great bass solo hitting those 32nd notes. This C.D. is a must have for any pianist or Monk and Mingus fan. The compositions are played with easy and comfort. Great harmony!

"Pre-Bird" was released in 1960 on the Emarcy label. Then it was reissued in 1965 on the Limelight label as "Mingus Revisted". Emarcy records released it on CD as "Mingus Revisted" a few years back. Great album, bye the way.

I first heard "Prayer for Passive Resistance" on the jukebox in the student center of a small Kansas religious college 40 years ago. A jukebox! with Mingus on it! I put so many quarters in for repeat play the jocks unplugged the box. But I bought the album. "Prayer for Passive Resistance" has Mingus improvising a hymn for the lunch-counter movement. "Take the A-Train" is amazingly loose and swinging. "Eclipse" and "Weird Nightmare" are vocals worthy of Schoenberg. Yeah, I know this is gush & not review, but I've been looking for this gem on CS and here it is. Yow!

This 24Bit remastered version of the original Mercury Stereo album of the same name recorded on May 24th and 25th 1960 in New York does justice to the excellent music contained in it. Although by CD standards the programme is short - 35minutes and 7 seconds - there is not a wasted note on it. There are six originals by the leader, together with one by Billy Strayhorn, "Take the A Train" with an interpolation of "Exactly Like You" by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, and one by Bob Russell and Duke Ellington " Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me" with an Interpolation of " I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills,J. Redmond and H. Remo. Both the Ellington tracks are performed with a verve, panache, indeed, joy, that I'm sure the master himself would approved. Mr Booker Ervin is a highlight on the first, playing with such swagger and power, it IS a joy to hear. The latter begins with a characteristic bass opening by Mr Mingus that propels the number along at quite a pace. Again Mr Ervin features. Interestingly, two great pianists,Paul Bley and Roland Hanna alternating, are featured on five, including these tracks. Some of their pianistic punctuations are quite stunning. But it is in the originals that Mingus is perversely most Duke like. For example, "Bemoanable Lady" sounds more Duke than Duke, and strangely, the solo by the great Mr Eric Dolphy, takes on Mr Hodges and adds to it in inventiveness and passion. One track, "Half-Mast Inhibition" is conducted by Gunther Schuller. Another highlight for me is the last track which features the glorious cello sound of Mr Charlie McCracken. The Orchestration on this rivals the work on Pithecanthropus Erectus. Great music. The programme seems to have the notion of showing a number of sides of the talents of Mr Mingus - vocalist Lorraine Cousins appears on two tracks - with a variety of approaches to the music. It is five star music undoubtedly. The packaging is attractive but unreadable.

What we have here are some classic Mingus compositions filled-out
and arranged for large (11 pieces) jazz ensemble, another
brilliant version of Ellington's "Mood Indigo," and a Mingus
piano solo version of Eubie Blake's "Memories of You."
Many of the pieces are retitled here, but Mingus fans will
immediately recognize "Good-Bye, Porkpie Hat" and "Haiitian Fight
Song" without being cued. All arrangements are by Mingus himself, who also plays bass on 7 of the 9 takes here. This is
probably NOT a good introduction to Mingus, but those who are
familiar with his work will be grateful for these versions of
tunes in a more "full-dimensional" approach. The version of
"Haiitian Fight Song" in particular is a "killer." It's just
rock-'em, sock-'em, no-holds-barred Mingus! The powerful, up-
tempo tunes emerge stronger, the softer, slower ones more
delicate from these arrangements. For Mingus fans only, but not
to be missed if you are one!

Boy. No offense to the 1999 reviewer (things stay on here a while, don't they?), but don't think you need any prior jazz background to appreciate this stunning album. I got it for free when a radio station threw their lps out (!) and now I have the digital version. Apparently Red Norvo was a friend of Mel Torme's, and the trio backed him up a few times on his 50s TV show. I would love to find that stuff. Anyhow, I heard originally Mundell Lowe was supposed to play with this group, but had to bow out, and recommended Tal Farlow. They figured that old swing mallet man Red Norvo would be an easy gig. But, holy cow! He put everybody through their paces, and Farlow worked hard on the meteoric speed he became known for. The textural variety they get is beautiful. Bowed bass, neck-tapping on the guitar, just fantastic. This one of those durable works of art that catches your ear right away, and then continues to reward repeated listenings. Standards stay fresh with innovative enthused minds.

I ran out and bought 3 of their 78 rpm records, which I promply wore to a hiss. Years later, I bought a double LP with the same tunes as this CD. Now, I'm going to buy this CD. Over the years I've told anyone who would listen about that fabulous night at the Hague. It was, and still is the high point in my life with jazz. The other reviewers on this page got it right. No need to elaborate.

This album continues to blow me away. Incredible musicianship, by musicians having a great time. This makes for great wee hours listening with a scotch in hand.

The material on this cd is available at a ridiculously low price on a 4 cd Tal Farlow set from Germany. Search Amazon for Tal Farlow Quadromania. The first cd of the set is these sessions. The other 3 cds are tracks which are also on the earlier cds of the Tal Farlow Mosaic box set. If you are interested in Tal Farlow and you don't have either the Mosaic set or this material, check out Quadromania. Even if you do have the Mosaic set, check it out, because these sessions used to be difficult and expensive to obtain.

There are many other 4 cd sets of jazz and classical material. Search for Quadromania and see what gems are available.

This CD should only be listened to/reviewed by those of us with jazz backgrounds. The phrasing and comping is so incredibly complex that it can only be appreciated by serious jazz afficianados! I listened to this with my with my wife, and where she would wrinkle her nose with "what's that?", I would raise my eyebrows with "my Lord! Listen to THAT!" If you want entertainment for entertainment's sake, buy this CD! The artists are at the peak of their "chops", and seem to be raising the bar for the other artists' solos. They lead in to the other's solo with a "top this!" attitude, and the result is a CD with incredible solos and masterful comps. I highly recommend this CD if you have an above average knowledge of jazz soloing and comping.