Charles Mingus Music

Unsatisfied that bop was considered a thing of the past, Dave Parker (saxes), Mike Murley (saxes), Richard Underhill (saxes), Jim Vivian (bass) and Stitch Wynston (drums) collaborated and jammed on the streets of downtown Toronto to produce some of the most unlikely songs to ever break into the Canadian Top 40. "Spadina Bus" (an ode to the Toronto bus system) and "Out Of My House, Roach" received unexpected attention on Much Music (Canadian MTV), and the album sold 15 000: a record for a Canadian independant release that was eventually bested by The Barenaked Ladies' "Yellow Tape".
The songs are tightly written to promote bop ideals and values delivered with a sophisticated blend of musicianship and absurdity. The vocal tracks (Spadina Bus, Out Of My House Roach and The Puker) are entertaining bop rap songs, but the strongest moments of the album are on their instrumental tracks, such as Gabi's Gimi Suit and The Shuffle Monster.
The melodies tend to be very repetitive, but are decorated appropriately with a tapestry of sax interplay, though Vitamin K is the most notable exception, not only being the most elaborately written song on the album, but could easily have been written in the very era the Demons are representing. This album will appeal to fans of 50s and 60s bop, mild avant-garde, and is a solid addition to any jazz collection.
Tracks 1-6 and 9 appeared on the original release. Tracks 7, 8, 10 & 11 are live bonus tracks.

Contrary to a previous review, the horns are right out front in this two disc set. During the first cut on disc 1, "So Long Eric," there is a large section when no horns are heard at all ... because Mingus, Richmond and Bayard are soloing! Perhaps the previous reviewer gave up too soon?

Or perhaps not. On the disconcerting side, the 2nd cut on disc 1, "Orange Was the Colour of Her Dress," literally is faded out at 12 minutes plus, with the band still playing. "Meditations" (perhaps "Meditations for Integration"?) opens side two, running 29 plus minutes, yet ending in silence. This makes the listener skittish: why also the lack of applause at the end of "These Foolish Things," the 3rd cut on disc 1? "Fables of Fabulus" starts abruptly (as though someone hit pause, lit a cigarette and, what, uh ...) and then proceeds for 40 plus minutes and, still, is faded out. There are only the barest of linear notes accompanying these discs, none with any information about the music performed. So, in this sense at least, let the buyer beware.

On the upside, this is a very listenable recording, with what many consider to be Mingus's finest band - rounded out with Eric Dolphy on flute & alto sax, Clifford Jordan on alto & tenor and Johnny Coles on trumpet. There are, however, two much finer live Mingus recordings recently released: Cornell 1964 (perhaps the best Mingus live album of all) and Music Written for Monterey 1965, Not Heard... Played in Its Entirety at UCLA, a reissue of material originally released on vinyl from Mingus's own label back in the 60's. Also, if you like visuals with your music, there is the fabulous new DVD, Jazz Icons: Charles Mingus Live in '64, which features live performances in Belgium, Norway, and Sweden. All three are fantastic and if you are a true Mingus fan, they are not simply a must; they are true gifts from the music gods.

All in all, however, Stuttgart Meditations is for Mingus completists, not for casual jazz fans. Make no mistake: there are high quality, high energy performances here that will knock you back. It is the presentation of parts of those performances that leaves something to be desired.

I love Mingus with Eric Dolphy, but the sound on this French import is just horrible. My guess is that it was recorded off the drum & bass mikes. Mingus comes through just fine, but the horns are a million miles away and the high hat dominates the mix. Unless you're a die-hard completest, you may want to pass on this one.

Contrary to a previous review, the horns are right out front in this two disc set. During the first cut on disc 1, "So Long Eric," there is a large section when no horns are heard at all ... because Mingus, Richmond and Bayard are soloing! Perhaps the previous reviewer gave up too soon?

Or perhaps not. On the disconcerting side, the 2nd cut on disc 1, "Orange Was the Colour of Her Dress," literally is faded out at 12 minutes plus, with the band still playing. "Meditations" (perhaps "Meditations for Integration"?) opens side two, running 29 plus minutes, yet ending in silence. This makes the listener skittish: why also the lack of applause at the end of "These Foolish Things," the 3rd cut on disc 1? "Fables of Fabulus" starts abruptly (as though someone hit pause, lit a cigarette and, what, uh ...) and then proceeds for 40 plus minutes and, still, is faded out. There are only the barest of linear notes accompanying these discs, none with any information about the music performed. So, in this sense at least, let the buyer beware.

On the upside, this is a very listenable recording, with what many consider to be Mingus's finest band - rounded out with Eric Dolphy on flute & alto sax, Clifford Jordan on alto & tenor and Johnny Coles on trumpet. There are, however, two much finer live Mingus recordings recently released: Cornell 1964 (perhaps the best Mingus live album of all) and Music Written for Monterey 1965, Not Heard... Played in Its Entirety at UCLA, a reissue of material originally released on vinyl from Mingus's own label back in the 60's. Also, if you like visuals with your music, there is the fabulous new DVD, Jazz Icons: Charles Mingus Live in '64, which features live performances in Belgium, Norway, and Sweden. All three are fantastic and if you are a true Mingus fan, they are not simply a must; they are true gifts from the music gods.

All in all, however, Stuttgart Meditations is for Mingus completists, not for casual jazz fans. Make no mistake: there are high quality, high energy performances here that will knock you back. It is the presentation of parts of those performances that leaves something to be desired.

I love Mingus with Eric Dolphy, but the sound on this French import is just horrible. My guess is that it was recorded off the drum & bass mikes. Mingus comes through just fine, but the horns are a million miles away and the high hat dominates the mix. Unless you're a die-hard completest, you may want to pass on this one.

I will not bore the reader with well worn comments. I will say that this is a brilliant anthology and without question some of Mingus finest compositions. The reading here of "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" is simply stunning. It makes you want to crawl up the wall with delight. For me this was the first time that I had heard "Portrait", "Hora Decubitus" and "Meditations On Intergration (Parts 1 & 2)" and they work nicely within the framework of the collection, and are gems in themself. As always with Mingus, there's not a score in the collection that is not at the apex of music composition and artistic creative invention. This collection gives one a very broad look at his musical and compositional genius while with Atlantic, which in my own opinion is within the structure of his finest work. The booklet is also very detailed and informative and fills in a lot of missing loops in the huge, ever expanding Charles Mingus catalog. Do yourself a great favor if you are a fan of great jazz, compositional excellence and true American art in it's finest arena, grab this one, crank it up, fasten your seatbelt and sit back and enjoy the journey and adventure. You will surely be thrilled and want to hear more of the Mingus treasure chest of jewels. A wonderful box set. Grab it today, don't wait.

For anyone thinking about "getting into" Mingus, this is a great first step to take. As usual, Rhino does it right and gives us the impressive that was Mingus' work. Going from "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion" to "Myself When I Am Real" is a masterstroke. Also, this set shows you the brilliance of such sidemen as Danny Richmond, Jaki Byard and Jackie McLean, people who were up to the challenge of taking Mingus' work to unknown places. I still can recall first hearing "Pithocampus Erectus" on the local jazz station and asking myself, "What was that?!" Since then, life has never been the same. When it comes to Mingus, why be normal?

...could be used to describe either Mingus or this collection: producers Joel Dorn and Hal Willner have chosen to lead off with "Cumbia/Jazz Fusion" a sprawling 27 minute piece that (unjustly) received little attention and virtually no airplay when it was released in 1979. This is followed by a solo piano piece "Myself When I am Real." The listener is well over forty minutes into this collection before encountering well-known "hits" like "Haitian Fight Song" or "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat."

The subtext of the collection seems to be to establish that Mingus was a jazz composer comparable to a giant like Ellington. And it is true, the sweep of this music from solo piano to big band, from chorus-bridge-chorus songs to multi-sectional suites is impressive. In this regard, this anthology succeeds as an introduction to Mingus' music. However, the inclusion of some of this material is done at the cost of omitting many of Mingus' better known (and more typical) works. If one just wants to hear Mingus and his band at their peak, get the late 1950s classics like "Ah um."

The CD includes good liner notes. All musicians and recording details documented.

being a long time mingus fan i'd like to chuck my two cents in here. there are many mingus "best of's" out there but they are usually very poorly compiled. This is the only one you should bother with to get a good start on what will be your latest, greatest, and possibly final music obsession. covering everything from the early debut singles up through his final recordings. mingus fans get almost violent over what his greatest period was. i myself lean towards the unpopular vote and dig the early beatnik mingus (the complete debut recordings box is the greatest musical treasure ever, of all time, daddy-o)in fact i stopped buying music after i nabbed the 12 disc debut box. I could'nt follow it up with anything. The early mingus is very experimental in a 50's kind of way, beat heavy jazz that would make a great soundtrack to any DALI painting. I think the early mingus is what lands him in "high times" magazine so often (heh heh). mingus shifted gears on his bethlehem and columbia recordings, very mainstream but absolutely perfect jazz. so groovy and soul stirring that you will chuck your over-rated miles davis reissues out in the street. The atlantic years (that this comp is heavy on) is easily his most popular era. his relationship with roland kirk was made in heaven. most likely the atlantic stuff will hook you first. the highlights are all here (no "eat that chicken" tho). in short if you dig the genius of cool-daddies like MONK, SUN-RA, ORNETTE, COLTRANE etc... dig in you will never be the same. (oh and save your pennies for the debut box while it's still in print!)

To my ears, the most transcendent moment in the history of recorded music (please excuse the hyperbole) occurs about twenty seconds into "Jump Monk", the third song on disc one of this collection. After a nimble bassline intro by Mingus himself, tenor saxman George Barrow unleashes six soulful, lilting notes that never fail to conjure up images of what it must be like to stare into the face of god.

Now, one 3 second phrase does not an album make. I know this. This is one of my favourite jazz collections because the rest of it manages to live up to that one magnificent moment. Its consistency is what amazes me. Mingus manages to write music the way Tom Robbins writes books: with a focus on the narrative whole, while adding enough raw nuggets of buoyancy to make the whole thing go down easy.

Highlights for me include "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" (like listening to the history of man), "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (melancholic without being melodramatic -- an impossible feat in my books), and "Better Git it in Your Soul" (spunky energy). And of course, "Myself When I Am Real", a haunting seven-and-a-half minute piano improv.

Sometimes jazz baffles me for its insistence on staying within the basic and cliched forms. Mingus never falls into that deep hole.