By Lazaro Vega
Discography: First Excelsior Session
Charles Mingus Sextet: N.R. 'Nat' Bates, tpt; Maxwell Davis, William
Woodman, ts; Robert Mosley, pno; Charles Mingus, bass; Roy Porter, dr.;
Oradell Mitchell, vcl (1); Everett Pettis, vcl (2). Recorded in Los
Angeles, Fall of 1945.
"The Texas Hop" (vcl 1); "Baby, Take A Chance With Me" (vcl 2);
"Lonesome Woman Blues" (vcl 1); "Swingin' An Echo."
AAJ: The second band, with Karl George on trumpet,
Lucky Thompson on tenor saxophone, Gene Porter on baritone saxophone and
clarinet, Wilber Baranco on piano and Lee Young on drums, this band had
recorded for Apollo with vocalist Duke Henderson, but it was something
which didn't sound like these early Mingus records, they were just a lot
more straight ahead.
CN: Right, right. I know the Henderson sides. Also some
of the same people showed up on Dinah Washington and Wynonie Harris
sessions. These were the hip guys making the independent record dates
around L.A. at the time. They're the people getting the work.
AAJ: Mingus leads a 10-piece band. Pianist Wilbert
Baranco is interesting to me: he's sort of a compendium of different jazz
styles up to that point as he can play swing, or a la Fats Waller, and he
can play bop.
CN: He was a prominent guy in L.A. at the time as a
bandleader and organizer. He recorded some sides under his own name and
otherwise just pops up throughout the '40's California musical scene.
AAJ: He's featured pretty well on "Ain't Jivin' Blues"
with Claude Trenier on vocals. Then there's a second version of "Baby, Take
A Chance With Me." This time it's a little bit faster and on trombone
there's Henry Coker, who would become more famous with the Count Basie
Orchestra. Alto saxophonist Willie Smith, who was around L.A. with the
Harry James Band, appears on many Jazz at the Philharmonic recordings from
this period. He, too, is a future Ellingtonian.
Perhaps one of the big surprises of this early series of 8 recordings
for Excelsior is the cut, "Shuffle Bass Boogie." Most of AAJ readers will
know that Mingus recorded "Mingus Fingers" with the Lionel Hampton band
around this time, and some of the hipper readers will know that when he was
with Lionel Hampton Mingus had a showcase, "Body and Soul," but that was
only available on a rare LP air check. So "Shuffle Bass Boogie" stands out
as one of the commercial examples of a Mingus showcase from the mid-forties.
CN: I do want to point out that this Mingus and his Octet is one, two,
three, four, five, six, --, eight, nine people and a vocalist in this
'octet.' In the previous sextette for Excelsior I think that's a 10-piece
band. (Laughs) So, you have to take some of this with a grain of salt.
Discography: Second Excelsior Session
Charles Mingus Sextette: Karl George, John Plonsky, tpt; Henry Coker,
tbn; Willie Smith, as; Lucky Thompson, ts; Gene Porter, bar, cl; Wilbert
Baranco, pno; Buddy Harper, gtr; Mingus, bass; Lee Young, dr; Claude
Trenier, vcl. (3). Recorded in Los Angeles, end of January 1946.
"Ain't Jivin' Blues" (vcl 3); "Baby, Take A Chance With Me" (vcl 3);
"Shuffle Bass Boogie"; "Weird Nightmare" (vcl 3).
AAJ: In this next set of music the influence of Duke
Ellington's sound on Charles Mingus Octet becomes even more apparent. This
series of recordings was made for Four Star. Four Star? A very small label,
I take it.
CN: No, it was actually not that small. It recorded
lots of country music, and general pop stuff, but I think they had their
biggest success on the West Coast doing country music. Mingus also appears,
I forget now whom he played with, but he did at least one and maybe two
other sideman dates on Four Star sessions. I have some of them at home.
AAJ: The third and final version in this set of "Baby,
Take A Chance With Me" is called "Honey, Take A Chance With Me."
CN: Although they sing 'baby.' And then "Bedspread,"
which is a Buddy Collette tune and arrangement. When Mingus called Buddy
for the date, he said, "Hey, why don't you bring something along, you know,
for this instrumentation." Collette went and dug out "Bedspread" which he
had played with Mingus earlier in another band and just updated the
arrangement to include all these players.
Then "This Subdues My Passion," which is a typical sort of later Mingus
title that you'd expect to see appear in the fifties or sixties on one of
his pieces. But it's a very Ellingtonesque sounding piece. It really
distills that sound to its essence. It's not parody, really, but just
homage to Ellington.
AAJ: The voicing, the harmonies, the mood.
CN: Oh, he captures it all, I think. One thing about
Mingus and comparing him to Billy Strayhorn, I think Mingus is more
directly an Ellingtonian than Strayhorn was at the time. Strayhorn was
writing very fine pieces, but he was relying on the (Ellington) band and
those players in the Ellington band to give it the Ellington sound, whereas
Mingus is going at it from the other direction. He's using a whole
different bunch of musicians, and is recreating the sound that way.
AAJ: The clarinet-lead is part of the "Ellington
Effect" on "This Subdues My Passion." Someone else who appears for the
first time on these recordings is Lady Will Carr. People might be a little
surprised by her: she has dazzling technique and can play the piano in a
fast and clear way.
CN: Yes, she was a very accomplished and very popular
artist in L.A. at the time, although there was speculation in some
discographies that the name Lady Will Carr on the records was a pseudonym
for Billy Strayhorn.
AAJ: But she was the real deal.
CN: That's right, that's the way her name was supposed
to read on her Birth Certificate.
AAJ: Again we have Claude Trenier ["Tren-year?"]
singing.
CN: "Tren-eer." The Treniers was an early R & B vocal
group in the forties and early fifties. In fact, if anybody was old enough
to go to some of those early rock and roll films that Alan Freed put
together... you know, black and white... it's where you could see Little
Richard, Fats Domino and people like that. Why, the Treniers popped up in a
few of those.
AAJ: Was Claude Trenier with that group?
CN: Yes. It was originally called The Trenier Twins,
and then it was The Trenier Brothers when a third brother joined the group.
They have a long history in show business.
Discography: Four Star Session
Baron Mingus and His Octet: Karl George, John Anderson, tpt; William
Woodman, ts, bar; Buddy Collette, as, cl; Britt Woodman, tbn; Lady Will
Carr, pno; Louis Speigner, rhythm gtr; Mingus, bass; Lee Young, dr; Claude
Trenier, vcl (3). Recorded in Los Angeles, April 20, 1946.
"Make Believe" (vcl 3); "Honey, Take A Chance With Me" (vcl 3);
"Bedspread"; "This Subdues My Passion."
AAJ: In 1948 Mingus presented his band as Baron Mingus
and His Rhythm, with a tip of the hat to Fats Waller and His Rhythm. Buddy
Collette is back on clarinet and alto; the mysterious Jimmy Bunn at the
piano; Mingus on bass; and Chuck Thompson on drums. A composition named
"Mingus Fingers" was the piece that most people would recognize from early
Mingus. It's great to hear Hampton playing in such an avant-garde piece - I
guess he was tickled to be with someone this innovative.
CN: Yes, it was a feature with the Lionel Hampton band.
There was a Decca recording of it, and it's been re-issued many times.
It seems strange to me, though, that then when Mingus records it on his
own in this quartet that it's almost a throwback to the John Kirby band, in
a way in the Buddy Collette clarinet.
AAJ: Then, too, there's one of the few standards on
this CD, "These Foolish Things."
Discography: Dolphins of Hollywood Session
Baron Mingus And His Rhythm: Buddy Collette, as, cl; Jimmy Bunn, pno;
Chuck Thompson, dr. Recorded in Los Angeles, early November 1948.
"Mingus Fingers"; "These Foolish Things."
AAJ: There are so many people on the next session,
Charles Baron Mingus Presents His Symphonic Airs that it must have been
hard to figure out. Herb Caro, who is someone you said to listen for, is in
here on baritone saxophone, and Richards Wyands is at the piano. He's still
playing today. What is there about "The Story of Love" and "He's Gone"
which struck you about this session for Fentone?
CN: Well, this is a big sort of jump ahead for Mingus.
This is first real big band date, but he did it in San Francisco.
AAJ: There's Cal Tjader on drums who was working with
Dave Brubeck about this time.
CN: Yes, right around that time. Mingus would go on
sabbaticals to San Francisco to get away from Los Angeles and stay with
friends up there. Just through acquaintances and friends he made why he got
this record date, assembled this big band, rehearsed them and got two songs
recorded. They're contracted to do four songs, which is the standard thing
on a record date. The other two sides wound up being rejected: Mingus
wasn't happy with them, so they didn't come out.
So you have these two big band sides by themselves with Mingus spreading
his wings with writing for a large ensemble for the first time, at least
the first time it's exposed to the public.
Then shortly after that to make up for the two sides that were failures,
why Mingus, Buzz Wheeler and Herb Caro did a small group date with two more
songs basically to fulfill the contract for four titles.
AAJ: Herb Gale is the vocalist on "Pennies From
Heaven," Mingus and Caro co-wrote a piece called "Lyon's Roar."
CN: Well, it's just a jam tune. It's not really a
composition, you know, they probably improvised the line on the spot and
split the publishing.
CN: The thing I ought to say at this time is a
supposition on my part. The reason for the classical flutist and Jean
McGuire the cellist was that Mingus wanted to record this composition of
his called "God's Portrait" which is listed in some discographies as having
been recorded, or issued but not found, or whatever: there's speculation
about it.
In fact there was a piece in Downbeat Magazine, a little item
reporting on the session from Ralph Gleason at the time describing the
piece and saying Mingus considered it a failure. I think primarily the
flute and the cello were added for that piece, but then while he had them,
why he scored parts for them on the other songs, too.
It's this tantalizing "God's Portrait" that did not succeed that was the
reason for them being there.
Discography: First Fentone Session
Charles 'Baron' Mingus Presents His Symphonic Airs: John Coppola, Vernon
Carlson, Allen Smith, Andy Peele, tpt; Bob Olney, cl. fl; Bud Hooven, as;
Morrie Stewart, Alex Megyesy, Don Smith, ts; Herb Caro, bar; Haig Schow,
Bob Lowry, possibly Hawes Coleman, tbn; Richard Wyands, pno; Mingus, bass;
Cal Tjader, dr; Johnny Berger, percussion; Dante Perfumo, fl; Jean McGuire,
cello; Herb Gayle, vcl. (4). Recorded in San Francisco, mid-February 1949.
"Story of Love"; "He's Gone" (vcl 4).
Discography: Second Fentone Session
Baron Mingus and His Rhythm: Herb Caro, bar; Buzz Wheeler, pno; Mingus,
bass; Warren Thompson, dr; Herb Gayle, vcl (4). Recorded in San Francisco,
February 1949 (at a separate session, after the above big band session was recorded).
"Pennies From Heaven" (vcl 4); "Lyon's Roar."
AAJ: In the next session, for Dolphins of Hollywood,
Herb Caro is heard this time on tenor saxophone, and Don Trenner is at the
piano, someone you may have seen on record before with Charlie Parker,
Sonny Criss, and Chet Baker. He went on to become Ann Margaret's Music Director?
CN: Yes, and I remember him being a bandleader on a TV.
show in the '50' s. I don't remember what it was, but you know, one of
those weekly variety shows? Why Don Trenner was the bandleader.
AAJ: Helen Carr did vocals with Mingus, but what else
is she known for?
CN: Right. She did two dates for Bethlehem. They've
recently been re-issued in Japan. I don't think they're out in the States
right now, but they're currently available in Japan. She was married to Don
Trenner at the time (of the Mingus session).
AAJ: "Boppin' In Boston" features Mingus scat singing
a little bit.
Discography: Dolphins of Hollywood
Baron Mingus And His Rhythm: Tommy Alexander, tpt.; Herb Caro, ts; Bob
Lowry, tbn; Don Trenner, pno; Mingus, bass, scat vcl. (6); Johnny Berger,
dr; Helen Carr, vcl (5). Recorded in Los Angeles, late February-early
March, 1949.
"Say It Isn't So" (vcl 5); "Boppin' In Boston" (vcl 6).
AAJ: Well, it seems you've uncovered something interesting about "God's
Portrait" as it relates to the composition called "Inspiration.
CN: There had been some trouble up in San Francisco
where Fentone was slow in paying the sidemen, or whatnot, and there'd been
some problems. I think it's quite likely that Mingus thought that material
might not be issued. So the first tune recorded on this Rex Hollywood date
was a remake of "The Story of Love," which he'd just recorded in February.
And it's been re-arranged. He's re-thought the score and it's, I shouldn't
say completely different, but it's an altered score.
Then there was a two-side 78 called "Inspiration, Parts 1 & 2." It was
sort of awkward from the standpoint that one side was two and half minutes
and one was a minute and a half.
Mingus was a smart enough guy to know how to write a piece that was 3
and a half minutes long, or however much you could squeeze onto the side of
a record. It was just bothering me. Then when I was reading through the
descriptions of "God's Portrait,' for those two sides that were un-issued
from the Fenton date. It said, "God's Portrait" and then an unknown title.
Then in the descriptions why there was the description of a vocal number
and then a piece with this cello and bass interplay/interlude, and flute
and whatnot.
Then I just by chance played a recording of a song called "Portrait"
which Mingus recorded for his own Debut label with a Jacky Paris vocal and
I recognized it, it's this identical theme to "Inspiration" here on the Rex
Hollywood date. It has a cello and bass interlude in part of it, and
there's your vocal. Then it all of sudden clicked that this un-issued
"God's Portrait" from San Francisco was a two-sided composition, parts A
and B. One of them had a vocal on it, then there was this interlude, and
the other was this instrumental section.
Since that grandiose scheme seems to have failed in San Francisco,
Mingus came back and re-cobbled it into just a big band piece and recorded
it as "Inspiration, Parts A & B" which we edited back together so there
isn't a break in it now.
I think that's the likely scenario for what this missing composition
was.
AAJ: On the Rex Hollywood Session there's an unknown
guitar player.
CN: Yes, with this band and the way it's recorded, you
can hear one guitar chord if you listen through all of this material. You
have to really be hunting for it with headphones but there is a guitarist
there.
Discography: Rex Hollywood Session
Charlie Mingus And His 22 Piece Bebop Band (Stan Kenton Sidemen): Buddy
Childers, John Anderson, Hobart Dotson, Eddie Preston, possibly one or two
unknown, tpt; Eric Dolphy, as, fl, cl; Art Pepper, as, cl; Herb Caro, ts,
cl; probably William Green, ts, cl, fl; Jewel Grant, as, cl; Gene Porter,
bar, cl; Britt Woodman, Jimmy Knepper, Marty Smith, tbn; Russ Freeman, pno;
Mingus, Red Callender, bass; Roy Porter, dr; possibly Johnny Berger,
percussion; unknown gtr. Recorded in Hollywood, CA, Spring 1949.
"The Story of Love"; "Inspiration."
AAJ: We've gone through the entire output of Mingus as
a bandleader between 1945 and 1949, except for the one rehearsal segment on
this CD, "Charles 'Baron' Mingus, West Coast, 1945-49." The CD was produced
by Bob Sunenblick and co-produced by Chuck Nessa.
Now that we've all had a chance to go over all of this information, what
does this reveal about Mingus's music at the beginning of his career and
about, maybe, his subsequent developments?
CN: Well, I think a number of the early Debut
recordings--which are the things that followed--there was a lot of dabbling
in crossover to classical music, and sounding like chamber music. I think
there had been speculation that these unheard earlier sides were more of
the same, but they're not: this is jazz material. It runs the gamut from
these jump bands to a little bit of bebop, some swing, Ellington: it's
everything. Mingus was just working in every direction and doing it all
with an amazing facility. I think for the first five or six years of a
professional career this is an amazing output.
Lazaro Vega is Jazz Director at Blue Lake Public Radio, the broadcast
service of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, an international summer school for the
arts. See www.bluelake.org.
If you have trouble finding "Charles 'Baron' Mingus, West Coast,
1945-49" please e-mail cnessa@earthlink.net or write Uptown Records, P.O.
Box 394, Whitehall, MI 49461.
