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Sue Graham Mingus: All the Things You Could Be By Now If Charles' Wife Was Your Flamekeeper
by R.J. DeLuke
Charles Mingus was a larger than life figure on the music scene. Crashing. Volatile. Complex. Swinging. Intense. Delicate. Raucous and joyous. Depending on who you talk to, and maybe even what day, different images might be conjured up. Different words used to describe him by those who knew and performed with him.
But inside Mingus, always, was the music. He played the bass as a virtuoso, and so, composed on the spot like all the great ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus Sextet [with Eric Dolphy]: Cornell 1964
by AAJ Italy Staff
Chissà dove si trovava questo nastro! In qualche cassetto, magari tra un maglione fuori moda e un fascicolo di vecchie carte! O c'è una forza magica e misteriosa che fa riapparire ogni tanto, come bolle sulla superficie di una pozza immobile, dei frammenti della storia musicale del Novecento e ce li restituisce come pietre preziose. Cronologicamente Cornell 1964 si pone in uno spazio finora vuoto della discografia di Charles Mingus, nel marzo del 1964, una quindicina di giorni prima del ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964
by Mark F. Turner
The hype factor was cranked up considerably in 2005 for the unearthed recording of two jazz legends: John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk's At Carnegie Hall (Blue Note). Things have cooled down a tad since that momentous release but just as exciting and equally important is Cornell 1964 featuring the Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy. Mingus, the powerful enigmatic bassist, band-leader and composer, was as controversial as he was dynamic. Dolphy, an absolutely brilliant musician (alto sax, ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964
by Greg Camphire
Like its historic 2005 discovery of the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall, Blue Note Records has unearthed another masterpiece from the vaults with Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964. The double-disc collection is a monumental portrayal of an all-star group at the height of its powers, led by the bassist/composer who is widely regarded as one of the most complex, idiosyncratic and influential figures in 20th century American music. Although this band is represented ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus: Cornell 1964 & In Paris: The Complete America Sessions
by Andrey Henkin
Charles Mingus Cornell 1964 Blue Note 2007 Charles Mingus In Paris - The Complete America Session Sunnyside 2007
One of the recent topics discussed among jazz journalists is whether it is fair to judge newly unearthed recordings against modern ones. The debate began with last year's issue of At Carnegie Hall ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus: Epitaph's Return
by George Kanzler
Charles Mingus' place in jazz history was secured well before his death at fifty-six in 1979. He had made his mark as one of the music's great bassists, most uncompromising bandleaders and original composers. But an event that happened ten years after his death created a tsunami spreading throughout the jazz world, now known as Mingus Music.That event was the premiere of “Epitaph (available on the two-CD 1990 Columbia release of the same name), Mingus' sprawling, grand, two-hour-plus ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus: Thrice Upon A Theme
by Matthew Miller
The reissue/compilation has always held a tenuous position in the music world. At best, it can save a work from obscurity; at worst, it can take it out of historical context and unnecessarily clutter the market with music that has been safely anthologized. A reissue of a reissue, Thrice Upon a Theme, is nonetheless a welcome addition to Charles Mingus' vast discography. The two-disc set contains a pair of relatively obscure mid-'50s sessions that in one case ...
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