BBC Concert Orchestra & Guy Barker's New Jazz Orchestra - Celebrating Mingus (30th Sept 2022)

Broadcast of a tribute concert held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London just over a month ago.  Celebrating Mingus, in his centenary year, is achieved by the two orchestras and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin not in a straightforward programme of Mingus tunes - as was the case with a previous tribute concert posted here - but through Mingus' formative influences, and a grand narrative work in the second half.

The concert does start off with a pair of Mingus classics - Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too and Us Is Two, freshly orchestrated by Guy Barker (as is the whole programme) and providing a punchy, vivacious curtain-raiser.  The tempo then comes down for a lovely Fleurette Africaine, and stays with Ellington for Money Jungle's title track and I Got It Bad.  This section, sketching out Mingus' early influences, next reaches all the way back to Joplin and an orchestration of Jelly Roll Morton's arrangement of Maple Leaf Rag, before returning to Ellington by way of Tizol for a great Caravan.

The single work devised by Barker that takes up the remainder of the concert is titled Mingus 100, and over 70 minutes paints the colourful life of its subject in vivid hues.  Far from being just a run-together medley of Mingus themes (although many classics are present and correct), the beautifully-arranged suite is narrated by Allan Harris, to a text by Rob Ryan.  Harris is a thoroughly engaging guide to the musical events, inhabiting the mercurial character of Mingus in all his joys, sorrows and memorable moments, turning the suite into something approaching a mini-musical biopic.  Just listen to the whole thing and enjoy, it's a wonderful tribute.

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Mingus at SGTG:

East Coasting
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 

Mingus Ah Um & Mingus Dynasty 
Oh Yeah

Tijuana Moods

Mingus Revisited (aka Pre-Bird)
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  

Mingus (Joni Mitchell album)
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Joni Mitchell - Mingus (1979)

Writing collaboration between an ailing Mingus, who died shortly before its completion, and Joni Mitchell at the height of her jazz era.  The stellar cast of musicians, based around Weather Report plus Herbie Hancock, is the perfect lineup to back Joni's vocals and minimalist, percussive acoustic guitar.

Out of six tunes Mingus sang into a tape recorder for Joni, three made the album, and a fourth is her sterling setting of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.  The remaining two are credited solely to Mitchell, but carry the spark of inspiration from the collaboration, especially God Must Be A Boogie Man.  Interspersed between the songs are audio verité recordings provided by Mingus' wife Sue, providing an intimate window into the final years of his life.  One of the most underrated albums in the Joni Mitchell canon, and a fine tribute to a jazz legend.

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Joni Mitchell at SGTG:

Miles Of Aisles

Shadows And Light

Charles Mingus - Mingus Revisited (aka Pre-Bird) (1961)

...and SGTG revisited - hello again everyone.  Starting back up right where this blog left off as we're into Mingus' centenary year as of a few weeks ago, so perfect time to dive into his great catalogue afresh (all previous links below).  Today's album was originally titled Pre-Bird, on account of its music being composed prior to Mingus' exposure to Charlie Parker.  The LP featured a side of short but still intriguing pieces and a side of lengtheir tracks, the closing Half-Mast Inhibition rendered by a 22-piece ensemble conducted by Gunther Schuller.

In addition to his own writing, each original album side kicked off with an ingenious arrangement of two well-known contrasting melodies, based on similar harmonic material therefore ripe for interpolation.  We thus get Take The A Train combined with Exactly Like You to open the record, and later Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me against I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart.  Another highlight of the first side is the inclusion of two vocal pieces, Eclipse and Weird Nightmare, their off-beam and slightly unsettling melodies sung by the otherwise unknown Lorraine Cousins.  All in all, another pleasingly odd and very rewarding Mingus album.  Coming up later in the week - an end-of-life tribute to the great man, to continue marking his centenary.

"Pre-Bird" original LP cover, 1961

link

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Previously posted at SGTG:

East Coasting
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 

Mingus Ah Um & Mingus Dynasty 
Oh Yeah

Tijuana Moods
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Another break, plus Mingus '59

Time for SGTG to take another break.  Will probably be back in the Spring like last year, and more than likely feature fewer posts each month - still enjoying the blog, but to be honest I'm just running out of stuff I want to post at the moment.  That may change again in future years, will see how things go.  And of course, thanks again for all your comments - that's what really makes SGTG a pleasure to do.  For now, happy new year to you all when it comes, hope it's a good one.  Here's some top-drawer Mingus to play out 2021.

Mingus Ah Um became Charles Mingus' Columbia debut in October 1959, having been recorded in May of that year.  The album's become such a cornerstone-classic in retrospect it's difficult to think what to actually write about it, other than it's a beautifully-composed and brilliantly-played synthesis of all Mingus' influences leading up to this watershed point in his career.  Formative influences of gospel electrify the joyous Better Git It In Your Soul; Duke Ellington, Lester Young and Jelly Roll Morton are paid tributes, and Mingus' composing and arranging talents make every single track a classic.

Widely regarded as a companion piece to Mingus Ah Um, and even bundled together in a 2-CD remastered edition at one point, Mingus Dynasty was recorded shortly after the release of Ah Um and came out in the spring of 1960.  If the opening Slop sounds like a variation on Better Git It In Your Soul, that's exactly what was commissioned of Mingus (by a TV show) for the tune, and it kicks off the album in fine gospel rave-up style.  Elsewhere, Mingus' compositional skill continues to flourish in striking pieces like Diane and Far Wells, Mill Valley, and his debt to Duke is made even more explicit in fine renderings of Mood Indigo and Things Ain't What They Used To Be.

 

Mingus Ah Um link

Mingus Dynasty link

pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:

East Coasting
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 
Oh Yeah

Tijuana Moods
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - East Coasting (1957)

Early Mingus with a small but perfectly-chosen group, and five top-notch compositions by the man himself topped off with a rendition of Memories Of You.  East Coasting is a gorgeous, accessible album, not least with Bill Evans behind the keys, and the mellow moments of this record are particularly enjoyable - the lengthy take of Celia is probably my highlight.  There are moments that cook and swing too, in the lengthy quick-slow arrangement of West Coast Ghost and the breezy title track.  Defintely deserves to be as celebrated as the better-known, major label entries in Mingus' catalogue.

link

pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 
Oh Yeah

Tijuana Moods
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - TIjuana Moods (rec. 1957, rel. 1962)

A nice bit of summery Mingus, inspired by a trip to Tijuana and recorded in July-August 1957, but due to contractual/financial complications the recording went unreleased by RCA until five years later.  After a swinging opener in Dizzy Moods, inspired by the titular figure's Woody 'N You, the music starts to take a more explicitly Mexican turn with the castanet-led Ysabel's Table Dance for an exhilarating ten minutes.  

 

The album's second half kicks off with the brief but complex Tijuana Gift Shop with its memorable ducking and weaving melody, then another lengthy track follows.  Los Mariachis features Mingus calling out the way through a bluesy introduction (which will be returned to), then more Latin-inflected melodies and rhythms fill out the subsequent sections to give another highlight to the album.  To close, we get a gorgeous rendition of Ted Grouya's jazz standard Flamingo.  A cracking early Mingus album that deserves to be just as celebrated as its better-known siblings.

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pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 
Oh Yeah  
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall (rec. 1953, first 12" LP release 1956)

Recordings from a bop dream team in concert at Toronto's Massey Hall on 15 May 1953, with some later bass overdubs.  Bird & Diz, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach - what more to say, really, about a lineup like that?  The audience might have been diminished due to being scheduled against a boxing prize fight, but this a heavyweight championship in its own right.  Six classic tunes give everyone a chance to land punches, from the opening swing of Perdido, a red hot Salt Peanuts where Gillespie's clearly having fun, to a lengthy Hot House where Mingus and Roach stretch out, and more.  An essential landmark in 50s jazz.

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Charles Mingus - Mingus Moves (1974)

After Let My Children Hear Music, his last hurrah for CBS, Charles Mingus returned to Atlantic Records for the rest of his final decade.  He assembled a new band around reedsman George Adams, pianist Don Pullen and drummer Dannie Richmond: this would be the group that recorded his other late masterpieces Changes One & Two (all links below).

Falling in between these late-career peaks, Mingus Moves (recorded in October 1973) sometimes gets lost in the shuffle or just plain underrated, but it's a great record in its own right.  Mingus' compositional touch was still strong, in the opening Canon (a deft bit of arranging that does what it says on the tin), and Opus 3 & 4, all classic pieces of writing & playing.

In between there's tracks penned by Let My Children.... arranger Sy Johnson (Wee), by band members Adams (the lovely Flowers For A Lady), and Pullen (the serene Newcomer), and an old-style ballad written by Doug Hammond and sung by him in duet with Honi Gordon that gives the album its title.  An album well worth having in any Mingus collection.

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pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 
Oh Yeah  
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland (1959)

A fresh, breezy and swinging live set from January 1959, captured as part of a series of 'Jazz Portraits' concerts at the Nonagon Art Gallery, NYC.  The resulting LP went through numerous album covers and permutations of the title, with this version opting for both 'Jazz Portraits' and 'Mingus In Wonderland'.

With John Handy on alto, Booker Ervin on tenor, Richard Wyands on piano and Dannie Richmond on piano, Mingus underpins the group in his usual formidable style through three originals and one bit of classic Gershwin.  The two tracks that bookend the album - the cityscape blues of Nostalgia In Times Square and the gorgeous Alice's Wonderland - were written for John Cassavetes' debut feature Shadows, but most of Mingus' music was apparently cut from the final version.  In between are a lovely take on I Can't Get Started and a spectacular blues rave-up, No Private Income Blues.  Enjoy the sound of Mingus kicking off one of the most golden years of his career in style.

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pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:  
Oh Yeah  
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - Changes One & Two (1975)

Some more late Mingus, in a pair of magnificent quintet records that were recorded at the same December 1974 sessions, then released separately and also as a double-album.  The opening minutes of Changes One find Mingus' political fire undimmed in the title Remember Rockefeller At Attica, but the music is incongrously bright and breezy.  Perhaps it started out with satirical lyrics a la Fables Of Faubus, who knows.  This is followed by the 17 sublime minutes of Sue's Changes, that rank among Mingus' most enduring music.  On the second half of the album, a riotous blues calls back to the Oh Yeah era, then the gorgeous Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love is the perfect closer.

Changes Two starts out following the same pattern as its sister album.  Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA swings like it ought to have a much less weighty title, but in the cases of both openers Mingus will have known exactly what he was doing.  This is followed by another 17-minute epic, a freshly minted reworking of the Mingus classic Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue.  Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love makes another appearance, this time with a Jackie Paris vocal, and is bookended by great compositions from band member Jack Walrath and arranger Sy Johnson.  Both albums are hugely recommended pinnacles of Mingus' career, alongside the other late classic Let My Children Hear Music.

Changes One
Changes Two
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:  
Oh Yeah  
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - Cumbia & Jazz Fusion (1978)

Been filling some gaps in my Mingus listening lately, and this album stood out as a particularly satisfying oddity.  Consisting of two epic slabs of late Mingus, recorded a year apart, Cumbia & Jazz Fusion finds his late-period arrangements still wild, dense and exciting, inspired particularly by Colombian dance rhythms on the title track, hence the name.  Perhaps this is more of a 'let's release these long tracks together' compilation, rather than a proper album - think Big Fun by Miles Davis, perhaps; but like that collection, Cumbia is well worth having.

The second track was recorded first, in Rome in 1976, and was intended to be a film soundtrack for the Italian political satire Todo Modo.  In the end, the filmmakers went with Morricone instead, but luckily Mingus' score was saved for this album - it's well worth a listen in its own right.  Some sections show Mingus clearly working with soundtrack music in mind, and others are just great passages of classic Mingus jazz writing, augmenting his familar musicians of the time with Italian players.  The real treat, though, is the 28-minute title track from March 1977, with its insistent Latin rhythms (including a percussion solo) and a fun vocal section sung by Mingus.

link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Oh Yeah
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Mingus Plays Piano
Let My Children Hear Music
plus:
Blue Moods
Money Jungle
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music (1972)

"Special acknowledgement to Teo Macero for his untiring efforts in producing the best album I have ever made", Mingus stated at the foot of the back cover notes on this 1972 LP.  Let My Children Hear Music was the great writer, arranger & musician's return to Columbia, and a late-career renaissance after a period of inactivity.  On his deathbed in 1979, Mingus sent a message to Sy Johnson, the key arranger on this album, declaring it his favourite of all his recordings.

That's two fairly unequivocal recommendations from the man himself, but how does LMCHM sound today?  Still as phenomenal, as far as I'm concerned.  An hour [including Taurus In The Arena Of Life, dropped from the original LP] of Mingus' most ambitious and colourful material since The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (see links below), it just keeps on giving with every listen.  From the slow introduction to The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers to the final howling winds of The I Of Hurricane Sue (a tribute to Mrs Mingus), this is orchestrated jazz at its finest.

As expected from Mingus, not all of the material was brand new: Adagio Ma Non Troppo reworks themes from his solo piano LP (see below), and the Edgar Allan Poe-esque Chill Of Death was actually written in 1939 when Mingus was a teenager, and precociously absorbing influences from Richard Strauss.  My two absolute favourite tracks here are the furious groove of Hobo Ho and the Stockhausen-at-the-circus brilliance of Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too, but the recommended tracks are: all of them.  Download and hear music.

link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Oh Yeah
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Mingus Plays Piano
plus:
Money Jungle
Blue Moods
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Miles Davis - Blue Moods (1955)

An often-overlooked mini masterpiece of early Miles, Blue Moods was recorded in July 1955 for Charles Mingus' Debut label.  Four tracks in just under 27 minutes of cool, smoky perfection, Blue Moods has an interesting (and unique in Miles' catalogue) lineup that contributes to its mellow atmosphere: trumpet, trombone (Britt Woodman), vibraphone (Teddy Charles), bass (Mingus) and drums (Elvin Jones).

By 1955 in jazz, the 10" mini-LP was on its way out, and longer albums becoming the norm; this is likely why the original liner notes pointed out that the brevity of this 12" LP was an audiophile choice to experiment with wider grooves.  Perhaps also true is that only these four tracks were rehearsed and taped; the CD excuses the runtime by stating that no bonus material was available to pad it out.  In any case, Blue Moods suits its length just fine, letting you give your full attention to four beautifully-rendered tunes.  None were penned by the participants, making this a pure exercise in song interpretation.

First up is the slow, crepuscular take on Eden Ahbez's Nature Boy, made famous by Nat King Cole, with Miles' mellifluous tone blowing gentle wisps over the not-too-wet vibraphone setting.  Next is the Broadway number Alone Together, in a great Mingus arrangement - more Mingus next week, btw.  The album's second half pairs the only slightly more upbeat There's No You with the movie standard Easy Living, which completes the hazy after-hours mood.  An absolutely gorgeous little record from start to finish, that deserves much greater recognition in Miles' lengthy discography.

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pw: sgtg

Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus & Max Roach - Money Jungle (1963)

A firey, tempestuous trio date organised at the suggestion of the great bandleader who wanted to record a piano trio album.  The musicians booked to back up the 63-year old in September 1962 were two decades his juniors, drummer Max Roach and bassist Charles Mingus.  From the opening title track, this was a session that cooked hard, with Mingus sounding like he's about to tear his strings off.  The almost-stern sounding, staccato take on Caravan was my introduction to the classic tune, back when it appeared on a popular Blue Note best-of CD in the 90s.

The famously short-fused bassist actually walked out on the sessions at one point before being coaxed back by Ellington, and much has been written about how the tension in the studio audibly contributed to such exciting uptempo tracks.  There is light and shade on the album too though, especially on the gorgeous Warm Valley.  Originally issued as an eight-track LP, Money Jungle was expanded to ten in the 80s, with this CD reissue following the original order then putting all the extra material afterwards - all of it absolutely essential listening.

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pw: sgtg

Charles Mingus - Mingus Plays Piano (1963)

In which the great bassist, composer, arranger and pianist spent a day in July of 1963 (the year of his fleeting but memorable tenure at Impulse! Records) solely at the piano.  At one point, Mingus can be heard remarking that the daunting uniqueness of this solo date is "not like sitting at home, playing by yourself", but he nonetheless proves himself game for the challenge, and turns in seven of his own compositions/improvisations plus four numbers by others in inimitable style.  It's a gorgeous set that proves endlessly enjoyable, with moments of knotty, strident freewheeling, bluesy riffing and sheer melodic gorgeousness all intermingling to make you repeatedly wish he'd done another solo piano album.  Or five.  Or ten.

link

Previously posted at SGTG:
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Oh Yeah
also:  
Proms Tribute To Mingus, 2017

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (1963)

Simply Mingus the composer and arranger at his absolute pinnacle.  Maybe some aficionados of Let My Children Hear Music, or even Ah Um, would disagree?  For me though, even those don't come close to the perfection of writing, arranging, great grooves and deeply felt soul of this January 1963 recording.  With possibly the first use of overdubs on a jazz record too (anyone know any different?), The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady hit a new level of sonic sophistication that still leaps out of the speakers/headphones today.

Each track title is basically a dance notation, as this album was written as a ballet of sorts, if never performed as such - Solo Dancer, Duet Solo Dancers, Group Dancers etc - and the lengthy subtitles are where the clues are to Mingus' intentions lay for what he was expressing in the music.  So the album opens with, to give it its full title, Track A - Solo Dancer: Stop! Look ! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitey! (or is it Whitney? spellings vary across different pressings).  In this track, as Mingus' psychotherapist Dr Edmund Pollock (yup, he was asked to review the music) notes in the liner, Charlie Mariano's alto sax solo acts as "a voice calling to others and saying "I am alone, please, please join me!" as the orchestral themes swirl around it.

There's a lot going on here, then, but this album shouldn't necessarily be regarded as 'difficult Mingus' - it's really not.  There's achingly gorgeous melody and harmony everywhere, repeated themes, and great grooves.  Only the side-long track that contains parts D through F takes a few goes to properly navigate, but it's a stunning achievement in orchestral jazz that's hugely satisfying once you get used to it.  Little interludes are provided for things like Mingus' piano, and Jay Berliner (who I only knew from Astral Weeks before I heard this album) playing bits of Spanish guitar, to evoke "the period of the Spanish Inquisition, and El Greco's mood of oppressive poverty and death".  Yes, there's weighty themes here, much of it Mingus' reflection of the Black American experience, but there's much joy too.  To finish, and to sum up the album really, here's the full title of the final section: Of Love, Pain, and Promised Revolt, Then Farewell, My Beloved, 'Til It's Freedom Day.

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Metropole Orkest - Beneath The Underdog: Charles Mingus Revisited (BBC Proms 2017)

This tribute concert to the legendary composer-bassist-pianist took place on 24th August as part of the Proms, and as I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the broadcast of it, here it is.  The Dutch Metropole Orkest were conducted by Jules Buckley, with great soloists (L-R at front of picture above are Leo Pellegrino, Bart van Lier and Christian Scott) making a more-than-decent fist of 15 Mingus classics in just under two hours.  Boogie Stop Shuffle, IX Love, Gunslinging Bird, Fables Of Faubus, Moanin' to name just a few all sparkle with the invention, wit and irresistible swing that they require, and that's even before mentioning the four vocal pieces.

 

27 year old Kandace Springs was IMO the star of the show - she released her own debut album last year, which I'm now keen to check out.  Her renditions here of Weird Nightmare, Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love and a pair of songs from Joni Mitchell's Mingus collaboration,The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines and God Must Be A Boogie Man are all superb.  The audience were even asked to join in on the chorus of the latter - slightly corny, but it works in the overall celebratory atmosphere.  As the inevitable and Albert Hall-roof-raising finale suggests, you'd Better Git It In Your Soul.

(I lost these files in a Mega blowout in Nov 2018, but got them back thanks to the awesomeness of two commenters - in case anyone wonders what the comments below were about.)

July 2020 update: I've now completely re-done the files for this one, in the style I eventually settled on for these radio broadcasts (track divisions + leaving in radio announcers between songs, etc).
new link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG: Oh Yeah

Charles Mingus - Oh Yeah (1962)

I came to Mingus by the route that most people of my generation probably discover him, through Ah Um's well-deserved place in the canon of essentials of 50s jazz.  And as eternal as that record remains, it's this one from 1962 that remains my Mingus of choice ever since getting hold of it and being blown away by its sheer driving energy.

Oh Yeah isn't a record that's driven by Mingus' bullish bass playing, though - he sticks to piano throughout, harking back to blues and boogie woogie whilst forging forward into some of his most avant-garde material yet.  Responsibility for the latter is shared by the main reedsman on this set - Roland (not yet Rahsaan) Kirk brings his collection of rare and bespoke horns to the table and launches the material, not least the opening and closing tracks here, into an arena of skronking weirdness that was at least half a decade ahead of its time, and still sounds as fresh and vital as ever.

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