Mingus Big Band: Tonight At Noon: Three Or Four Shades Of Love

Reinterpreting the compositions of Charles Mingus means planning ahead of time what Mingus created spontaneously in front of an audience. With his control-the-bass-line-rhythm, and with some vocal cheerleading, he'd have his band give its audience a thrilling performance every night out. The big bands capture that feeling in its entirety, and display it clearly and crisply; but without the same gusto Mingus always managed to project. This time, four of the ten pieces are performed by a different ensemble: the Charles Mingus Orchestra. Personnel are listed below, following the Big Band listing. Their interpretation of the title track contains all the drama and suspense originally intended, and transitions evenly to a sweet songscape. Equally fascinating, "Eclipse" features Adam Rogers' classical guitar and Michael Rabinowitz's exciting bassoon as solo voices. Elvis Costello adds lyrics to "Invisible Lady" alongside the evocative trombone interlude voice of Conrad Herwig. The orchestra has a few timbres to offer that the big band doesn't. Both, however, capture the moods Mingus intended and deliver them in an entirely stimulating manner. This is a sampling of the love songs Mingus wrote througout his lifetime. They contain some of the emotion and all of the beauty. As solo voices elected to represent the music, few can compare to saxophonists Seamus Blake, Alex Foster & Ronnie Cuber, trumpeters Kenny Rampton & Alex Sipiagin and trombonists Herwig & Ku-umba Frank Lacy. Music that had been lying undiscovered in Mingus' archives, music that he composed in the last years of his life while paralyzed, and music that the composer interpreted many decades ago with audiences like us in mind comes together on this latest album. The first half of the extended work, "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady," closes out the program. Impressionism that depicts various dancers and related scenery, the music reminds us how meters changed and moods varied in quick succession. Oh yeah. It's a thrill every time out, and the Mingus Big Band has created yet another stellar tribute to the master.

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