Charles Mingus Music

This is a recording made after Mingus was already sick and unable to play his instrument. I once borrowed the vinyl copy from a library and copied it on a cassette. As I remember the liner notes, Mingus was present at the recording sessions, but was only able to offer the most minimal of directions or advice. Still this is presented as his recording.

Nevertheless, the music is terrific. It features an extended big band made up of a large number of Mingus alumni, and the music alternates between solo excursions for almost everyone, and ensemble free blowing interludes.

It's terrific music.

There are two Mingus albums of this name. A 1960 version with a largish ensemble including Eric Dolphy originally recorded on Candid, and a 1970 sextet date originally recorded on the French America label and released in the U.S. on Prestige. Amazon's listing shows the Candid cover but lists the tunes that are on the French recording. The tunes on the Candid date are:
Reincarnation of a Lovebird; Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams; R & R; Body and Soul; and Bugs.

By now well documented on bootleg recordings, official releases and DVD the Charles Mingus sextet/quintet active in the spring of 1964 was a virtuosic power house that can be enjoyed on several different levels. The Salle Wagram concert in Paris documented here is typical of what the group proclaimed on its many other engagements throughout Europe in April of 1964. Long pieces with changing tempos and moods, extended solos and lots of passion and fury. "Peggy's Blue Skylight" differs a bit from other versions I've heard from this tour in a just under two minute semi rubato intro that features Dolphy on alto and Jordan playing counter lines prior to entering the head of the tune. Jordan sounds particularly strong during "Fables of Faubus" and as usual we have the driving force of the "Almighty Three" (Byard, Richmond, Mingus) keeping it swinging so hard you can't help but crack a smile. This release is a must for compleatests but I think I'd recommend the following night at Theatre de Champs-Elysees The Great Concert of Charles Mingus or perhaps the recent DVD release of recordings Jazz Icons: Charles Mingus Live in '64 from around this same time before exploring this concert.

The one tragedy and missed opportunity on Revenge is the sound quality of "So Long Eric". It sounds as though either the remaster engineer used an LP master without deemphasis or had the mis-guided idea to add high end to the original tape. The result is a shrill, un-listenable mess. This used to sound good on previous "bootleg" releases like the three LP set, The Great Charles Mingus Concert (Prestige 34001). I was hoping to retire my LP but instead I will go to it for this song instead of the "remaster" on Revenge. I was relieved to find that the rest of the Revenge set does not have this glaring sound quality error so this is worth getting for the rest of the music with sound quality typical of the other dates released from this tour. Kind of sad when the "official" release falls short of the bootleg version especially for something like sound quality. Note that the CD reissue of The Great Charles Mingus Concert (Verve B0002860-02) includes "So Long Eric" from the Theatre de Champs-Elysees show instead of the Salle Wagram as was included in the LP release mentioned above so I'm unaware of a decent sounding "So Long Eric" from Salle Wagram other than on LP. Also note that Coles is heard only on the first half of "So Long Eric" as he took ill during this show and did not perform for the remainder of the tour.

To be precise this is the music from the FIRST Paris concert by the Mingus group on April 17/18 at Salle Wagram and Johnny Coles- UNMENTIONED!- plays trumpet on the first tune of record 2 (which was in fact the first tune of the concert: I was there) This is the time when he collapsed on the scene!I believe Mrs Mingus should have mentioned that in her liner notes in stead of the longish tale of her bootleg chase!
The second concert is now released as "The great Charlie Mingus Concert Paris 1964" with correct liner notes mentioning that an earlier version had substituted the Salle Wagram version of "Goodbye Pork Hat" to the actual one (a quintet in lieu of a sextet in fact).Initial release was a mess too in other words.
Zylberstein (Paris,France)

Mingus in paris playing with some of the greatest musicians of all time.. the song list is also one of mingus' strongest - it features some of his best compositional work including fables of faubus, peggy's blue skylight, and the gorgeous 'orange was the color of her dress then blue silk'.. Eric Dolphy is particularly in good form here and his style is interesting in juxtaposition with clifford jordan.. Byard, mingus, and richmond are of course one of the greatest rhythm sections of jazz history.. I cannot recommend this album enough..

Charles Mingus' 1964 European tour is one of the most widely documented of his excursions on the road, and yet if I'm not mistaken, this performance, recorded in Paris on April 17 of that year is the first legally released show of the tour, and was indeed sourced from a bootleg. With a powerful band featuring longtime rhythm partner Dannie Richmond on drums, pianist Jaki Byard, and a frontline of Johnny Coles on trumpet, Clifford Jordan on tenor sax, and the incomporable Eric Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet and flute, Mingus had a band capable of stretching out and wailing with the best of them and one that could delicately express his most whimiscal melody, his tenderist love song, and his fiercest swing.

This tour, and this show are famous for a number of reasons-- primarily that this would be the last time Eric Dolphy would play with Mingus as he died of diabetes-related complications shortly after leaving Mingus' band ("So Long Eric", on the second disc was recorded as a farewell to him). More interesting is that on that tribute piece, Johnny Coles evidentally felt uncomfortable and left the show only to collapse and wake up in a hospital-- it was the only song he performed with the band on this set.

The set consists of six songs, each receiving extended performances (the shortest is just under 12 minutes, the longest is just under 30). The band is in stunning form (somewhat surprising given that they lost their trumpet player), and performs beautifully-- Byard never ceases to amaze, moving from sort of atonal splatters to Ellingtonish swing and colors in between, and Dolphy, who often seemed restrained on Mingus' albums, really cuts loose and delivers an unceasing level of variety and inventiveness in his soloing.

One thing of note, the sound of this recording is a bit thin-- to be sure, it was sourced from a bootleg. A good bootleg, but a bootleg nontethless. The performance is magical enough however that I can't bring myself to rate it any lower than five stars. Recommended.

The Mingus European Tour '64 generated some of the very best live music mankind is capable of. This is a set which should have been included in the space vessel to Mars. Some recordings capture human creativity at its very best and among these, 'Revenge' sits at the very top. This Mingus album is my all time favourite work of art. 5 stars doesn't even come close, it deserves a whole galaxy.

Along with its more famous sister session, 'John Handy at Monterey' - this incredible jam represents the best of that glorious era of San Francisco jazz of the psychedelic sixties - an era which glows ever more brightly as it recedes into the past. Jazz is played here as it should be - spontaneous and free - not as much driven as moody - wildly swinging from the brusque and absurd to the delicate and wondorously complex within seconds - John Handy and Mingus are at the height of their powers - accompanied by the now legendary pianist Jane Getz - in a rare recording. You won't go wrong with this one.

When I first heard this session I was sold. This was my first Mingus LP, but at a certain point it was worn out. So the reissue on CD was of course a must, because this is Mingus at his best. A very sensitive and lyrical recording, sometimes exploding in aggressive and violent and mean blues. The ever-changing tempo and Mingus roaring and hummin' and shouting directions of the music in the back, this is LIVE. Jane Getz on piano is very intense, and of course John Handy with his characteristic cry. Go get this recording. And you'd better get hit in your soul.

I've been looking for this album for nearly thirty years! After hearing it often in the late sixties (at a friend's house), I was left with the memory of jazz-playing at its' best - always honest, lyrical and inventive; at times thunderous, humorous, dark and sensual, sad, ecstatic, all of these and more. So I've found it again through amazon.com, and it's every bit as good as I remember! OK, jazz just can't be described, so get a copy, and you won't be disappointed.

Robert, 16th April, 1999

This album, along with Town Hall Concert '64 on OJC, are my favorite Mingus albums. I haven't listened to all of them, but I find that the OJC albums are preferrable to the other labels (in the case of Mingus). Clifford Jordan and John Handy are amazing on these two tracks, and the first half of Meditations is even better than the Town Hall Concert version, I think. It's of course a bit more minimal without Eric Dolphy, and the overall version is less artistic/classical sounding, but sometimes I'm in the mood for that kind of sound.

Listen to this version of New Fables. There are so many parts that swing so intensely... I really can't explain it any better than this band plays it. Listen! Mingus on bass, Dannie Richmond (he sounds absolutely killer on this album) on drums, Cliff Jordan on tenor (best I've ever heard him sound,) Jane Getz on piano (she was 16 when she made this recording) and special guest John Handy (always a treat) on alto. Buy this, you won't be disappointed.

I am a huge Mingus fan, and I think this recording of New Fables is the most intense version I have heard. The way the bass takes it upon itself to lead the band into each part of the song is amazing. Must be listened to at top volume.

"Right Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop" is a typically good live performance from Charles Mingus, there's just nothing overly exciting about it. The two extended compositions "Fables of Faubus" and "Meditations" are available on numerous other recordings, and these are not definitive versions. Also, this recording is from 1964, and there are two other live recordings from the same year that I would easily recommend ahead of this one -- "Town Hall Concert (OJC)" and "Revenge." Both of these CDs feature all-star bands including Eric Dolphy, whereas "Right Now" is an average band, with Clifford Jordan and the ever-present Dannie Richmond the only notables. This isn't a bad Mingus album (he didn't make many of those), but there are a lot better things out there.

I'm wondering whether the reviewer Mike Richman actually listened to this album, or just looked at the names of the personnel and decided from there how the music sounds. I challenge anyone with even a remote interest in jazz to listen to this version of Fables of Faubus and propose there is "nothing exciting" about it. This band, though obviously propelled by the rhythm section of Mingus and Richmond, tear into this piece like never before. As an interesting experiment, and to illuminate the genius of Charles Mingus, listen to "Fables of Faubus" as recorded on Mingus Ah Um, then the version on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (featuring audible lyrics, as well as Dolphy on sax), then listen to this version.

Over the course of 4 or 5 years, Mingus evolved this piece from a standard bop tune with a great theme, to a veritable epic masterwork with interweaving melodies and furious energy. In terms of sheer virtuosity and brilliant composing, this performance nearly rivals Mingus's greatest work, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. This version of "Fables" is at a higher tempo than the previous recordings, yet the band never lets up for a moment. Just when you think the piece may be winding down to a finale, the players introduce a completely new section, or they revitalize a melody from 10 minutes earlier. Even at 23 minutes in length, this performance doesn't drag for a second. Along the way, you get Mingus and Richmond howling along with the music, John Handy pulling aural cartwheels in order to keep up with them, and, as an additional musical affirmation of ethnicity in this already politically-charged composition, the whole band revisits the rollicking theme of Ysabel's Table Dance from Mingus's Tijuana Moods. No, jazz fans, there is no lack of excitement here.

In addition to New Fables, you also get Meditations (on a pair of wire cutters), a piece about integration, whose sophistication and understatement puts Mingus on par with almost any of his classical music contemporaries. The torment in his bowed bass will leave you haunted and speechless.

It is a shame that Mingus withdrew from the jazz scene amidst a slew of personal and mental problems, right at the height of his creative powers in 1965. This 1964 disc, along with the newly reissued UCLA performance, are testament to his legacy, along with Ellington, as the greatest of all jazz composers, and a powerful, unpredictable bandleader. Charles Mingus continued to exert his compositional prowess on "Let My Children Hear Music" and his other late-period releases, but never again would any of his bands match the fire and fury attained during the era of RIGHT NOW.