Browse by Artist: MINGUS, CHARLES

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Pithecanthropus Erectus
Label:	ATLANTIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	ATL 1237HLP

180 gram exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino. Originally released in 1956, featuring Charles Mingus (bass), Jackie McLean (alto sax), J. R. Monterose (tenor sax), Mal Waldron (piano) and Willie Jones (drums). "Pithecanthropus Erectus was Charles Mingus' breakthrough as a leader, the album where he established himself as a composer of boundless imagination and a fresh new voice that, despite his ambitiously modern concepts, was firmly grounded in jazz tradition. Mingus truly discovered himself after mastering the vocabularies of bop and swing, and with Pithecanthropus Erectus he began seeking new ways to increase the evocative power of the art form and challenge his musicians (who here include altoist Jackie McLean and pianist Mal Waldron) to work outside of convention. The title cut is one of his greatest masterpieces: a four-movement tone poem depicting man's evolution from pride and accomplishment to hubris and slavery and finally to ultimate destruction. The piece is held together by a haunting, repeated theme and broken up by frenetic, sound-effect-filled interludes that grow darker as man's spirit sinks lower. It can be a little hard to follow the story line, but the whole thing seethes with a brooding intensity that comes from the soloist's extraordinary focus on the mood, rather than simply flashing their chops. Mingus' playful side surfaces on 'A Foggy Day (In San Francisco),' which crams numerous sound effects (all from actual instruments) into a highly visual portrait, complete with honking cars, ringing trolleys, sirens, police whistles, change clinking on the sidewalk, and more. This was the first album where Mingus tailored his arrangements to the personalities of his musicians, teaching the pieces by ear instead of writing everything out. Perhaps that's why Pithecanthropus Erectus resembles paintings in sound -- full of sumptuous tone colors learned through Duke Ellington, but also rich in sonic details that only could have come from an adventurous modernist. And Mingus plays with the sort of raw passion that comes with the first flush of mastery. Still one of his greatest." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	The Clown
Label:	ATLANTIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	ATL 1260HLP

180 gram exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino. Featuring the original freakish cover art, as originally released in 1957. Featuring Charles Mingus (bass), Curtis Porter (alto & tenor saxes), Jimmy Knepper (trombone), Wade Legge (piano) and Dannie Richmond (drums). "The Clown was Charles Mingus' second masterpiece in a row, upping the already intense emotional commitment of Pithecanthropus Erectus and burning with righteous anger and frustration. With Pithecanthropus, Mingus displayed a gift for airtight, focused arrangements that nonetheless allowed his players great freedom to add to the established mood of each piece. The Clown refines and heightens that gift; instead of just writing heads that provide launch points for solos, Mingus tries to evoke something specific with every piece, and even his most impressionistic forays have a strong storytelling quality. In fact, The Clown's title cut makes that explicit with a story verbally improvised by Jean Shepherd (yes, the same Jean Shepherd responsible for A Christmas Story) from a predetermined narrative. There are obvious jazz parallels in the clown's descent into bitterness with every unresponsive, mean-spirited audience, but the track is even more interesting for the free improvisations led by trombonist Jimmy Knepper, as the group responds to Shepherd's story and paints an aural backdrop. It's evidence that Mingus' compositional palette was growing more determinedly modern, much like his increasing use of dissonance, sudden tempo changes, and multiple sections. The Clown introduced two of Mingus' finest compositions in the driving, determined 'Haitian Fight Song' and the '40s-flavored 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird,' a peaceful but melancholy tribute to Charlie Parker; Mingus would return to both throughout his career. And, more than just composing and arranging, Mingus also begins to take more of the spotlight as a soloist; in particular, his unaccompanied sections on 'Haitian Fight Song' make it one of his fieriest moments ever. Mingus may have matched the urgency of The Clown on later albums, but he never quite exceeded it." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Blues & Roots
Label:	ATLANTIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SD 1305HLP

180 gram exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino. Originally released in 1959, featuring Charles Mingus (bass), Jackie McLean & John Handy (alto saxes), Booker Ervin (tenor sax), Pepper Adams (baritone sax), Jimmy Knepper & Willie Dennis (trombones), Horace Parlan & Mal Waldron (piano) and Dannie Richmond (drums). "In response to critical carping that his ambitious, evocative music somehow didn't swing enough, Charles Mingus returned to the earthiest and earliest sources of black musical expression, namely the blues, gospel, and old-time New Orleans jazz. The resulting LP, Blues and Roots, isn't quite as wildly eclectic as usual, but it ranks as arguably Mingus' most joyously swinging outing. Working with simple forms, Mingus boosts the complexity of the music by assembling a nine-piece outfit and arranging multiple lines to be played simultaneously -- somewhat akin to the Dixieland ensembles of old, but with an acutely modern flavor. Anyone who had heard 'Haitian Fight Song' shouldn't have been surprised that such an album was well within Mingus' range, but jazz's self-appointed guardians have long greeted innovation with reactionary distaste. After Blues and Roots, there could be no question of Mingus' firm grounding in the basics, nor of his deeply felt affinity with them. Whether the music is explicitly gospel-based -- like the groundbreaking classic 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting' -- or not, the whole album is performed with a churchy fervor that rips through both the exuberant swingers and the aching, mournful slow blues. Still, it's the blues that most prominently inform the feeling of the album, aside from the aforementioned 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting' and the Jelly Roll Morton tribute 'My Jelly Roll Soul.' The recording session was reportedly very disorganized, but perhaps that actually helped give the performances the proper feel, since they wound up so loose and free-swinging. With a lineup including John Handy and Jackie McLean on alto, Booker Ervin on tenor, frequent anchor Pepper Adams on baritone, and Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis on trombones, among others, Blues and Roots isn't hurting for fiery soloists, and they help make the album perhaps the most soulful in Mingus' discography." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Tonight At Noon
Label:	ATLANTIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SD 1416HLP

180 gram exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino. Originally released in 1965, featuring Charles Mingus (bass), Jimmie Knepper (trombone), Shafi Hadi (alto sax), Wade Legge (piano) and Dannie Richmond (drums). "Tonight at Noon is, essentially, a compilation album -- although not in the usual sense. There are two distinct sessions that make up its contents: a 1957 date with Jimmy Knepper on trombone, drummer Dannie Richmond, saxophonist Shafi Hadi, and pianist Wade Legge, and a 1960 session with Booker Ervin, Roland Kirk on saxes, Knepper, bassist Doug Watkins, Mingus on piano, and Richmond. The feel of the two sets is different to be sure, but this is far from throwaway material; the tunes here are actually studio outtakes from the recordings for The Clown and Oh Yeah. While the former session features Mingus going for the blues via European harmonics and melodic approaches with hard bop tempos (particularly on the title track), the latter session with its nocturnal elegance and spatial irregularities comes off more as some kind of exercise in vanguard Ellington with sophisticated harmonies that give way to languid marches and gospel-tinged blues. Kirk and Ervin are particularly suited to one another, because they both swing hard as well as reach for the fences. Mingus' pianism is deeply rooted in blues, and that sense of pace and easiness informs these three tracks, particularly 'Old' Blue for Walt's Torin.' Hints of the material Mingus would record for Columbia on Ah Um are in these compositions. The most beautiful piece is from the 1957 session and closes the album: 'Passions of a Woman Loved' is a nearly ten-minute workout that feels like an Ellington suite. Despite the fact that this is an assembled album, it holds plenty of magic nonetheless." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Mingus At Atibes
Label:	ATLANTIC
Format:	2LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	SD 23001LP

Gatefold exact repro reissue, originally released in 1976. Recorded at the Antibes Jazz Festival, July 13, 1960. Mingus plays with Ted Curson, Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Dannie Richmond and Bud Powell. "During 1960, bassist Charles Mingus led one of his finest bands, a pianoless quartet with Eric Dolphy (on alto, flute, and bass clarinet), trumpeter Ted Curson, and drummer Dannie Richmond. For this live concert, the band is augmented by the great tenor Booker Ervin for some stirring music. All of the music is memorable: 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting,' 'Prayer for Passive Resistance,' 'What Love,' 'Folk Forms No. 1,' and 'Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul.' The immortal pianist Bud Powell sits in on a fine version of 'I'll Remember April' and Dolphy and Ervin in particular generate a great deal of heat during some of their solos." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
Label:	CANDID RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.50
Catalog #:	CANDID 9005LP

Exact repro of this 1960 release. "Charles Mingus has a fascinating way of offering music that is grounded in tradition while remaining startlingly original... The band is small for Mingus, and includes Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Ted Curson on trumpet, and Dannie Richmond on drums. It would be one of Dolphy and Curson's last recording dates with the artist, and they seem determined to go all out for it. The album accomplishes what the best of Mingus accomplishes: the perfect tension between jazz played as an ensemble and jazz played as totally free." --All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	The Alternate Moods Of Tijuana
Label:	DOXY (ITALY)
Format:	LP+CD
Price:	$26.00
Catalog #:	DOK 208LP

"Considered to be among Mingus' best albums, Tijuana Moods was recorded in NYC in the summer of 1957. Inspired by a trip to that well-known city of perdition, songs like 'Ysabel's Table Dance' and 'Los Mariachis' were meant to evoke the moods of many a man's tequila-fuelled misadventures there. The Alternate Moods of Tijuana is an album of alternative takes from that celebrated session, including an early version of the 'A Colloquial Dream' spoken-word piece with Lonnie Elder." On 180 gram vinyl with a CD of the entire album.

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music And Poetry
Label:	DOXY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	DOX 810LP

"Originally released in 1957 on the Bethlehem label, this obscure album shows Mingus exploring new territory with his sextet while incorporating vocals into his work, On the opening track, 'Scenes In The City,' Mel Stewart (who played Henry Jefferson in the American TV series All In the Family), performs a spoken word piece written by actor and playwright Lonne Elder III and the legendary Langston Hughes. The track is a snapshot of Harlem and NYC in the 1950s, and for that alone this album stands out in the Mingus repertoire. Although the rest of the album features no spoken word or poetry, the playing is top notch and sidemen -- Jimmy Knepper on Trombone, Shafi Hadi on sax, Clarence Shaw and Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Horace Parlan and Bob Hammer on piano -- can all evidently run with the big dogs. Digitally remastered."

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Trio
Label:	DOXY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	DOX 815LP

"With Dannie Richmond on drums and Hampton Hawes on piano (Sonny Clark plays only on 'I Can't Get Started') these 1957 NYC recordings represent Mingus' trio lineup at its best. Don't forget this is the year when East Coasting, Tijuana Moon and A Modern Jazz Symposium were released, proving 1957 to be an incredibly inspiring year for the man who reinvented double bass as a front line instrument. Remarkable in the trio formation are Mingus' powerful solos and hectic dialogues with Richmond's drumming. Absolut Jazz!"

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	The Complete Sessions Of 'The Clown'
Label:	DOXY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	DOX 823LP

"One of the most controversial and difficult musicians in jazz, Charles Mingus was also one of the most prolific, and perhaps the greatest bass player jazz has ever known. Released shortly after his groundbreaking Pithecanthropus Erectus, which marked the dawning of Mingus' era as a major player in jazz, The Clown took it to the next level and as a result captured some of the finest music Mingus ever made. Universally lauded as one of Mingus' best recordings, we are proud to offer the integral version of this seminal work. Listeners can now enjoy the complete sessions for the album, recorded on Feb 13 and March 12, 1957. Uniquely for a jazz player of this period, this album is comprised entirely of Mingus-penned tracks, including the explosive 'Haitian Fight Song' and his tribute to Charlie Parker 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird', while the title track features a spoken word piece by Jean Shepherd."

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Stuttgart Meditations
Label:	GET BACK (ITALY)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$26.00
Catalog #:	GET 2036CD

"Charles Mingus was not only a bass virtuoso, but probably the greatest bass playing leader the world has ever known. Although strongly influenced by Duke Ellington in his early years, he was a true pioneer in jazz, and by the '50s, was at the avant-garde of the jazz world where he was soon playing alongside Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Duke Ellington himself. By 1964, when this live album was recorded, Mingus was at his most creative and prolific, releasing over 30 albums over the course of the decade. Soon after the release of his sprawling masterpiece, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, called 'one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history,' Mingus put together one of his most influential ensembles, a sextet featuring Johnny Coles, Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Jaki Byard and Danny Richmond and undertook an extensive European tour. This tour, although marked by great live recordings such as this one in Stuttgart, was also unfortunately marred by tragedy as Coles fell ill and Dolphy died while in Berlin just two months later."

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Mingus Ah Um
Label:	MUSIC ON VINYL (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	LP
Price:	$30.00
Catalog #:	MOV 065LP

"When driving a band with the upright, or double bass, Charles Mingus looked -- and was -- gigantic, in more ways than one. He had huge creative appetites (as well as being hot tempered), creating his own combination of hard bop, blues, and avant-garde jazz. There was no one more multi-faceted than Mingus between the 1950s and 1970s and of his many albums, Mingus Ah Um (1959) is considered to be a jazz classic. When Columbia first issued this album, 6 of the 9 tracks were shortened drastically to fit them on the LP. Later reissues (on CD) have included the tracks in their original full length, but this edition of the album had not been released on vinyl yet. We are excited to release the album 50 years after its original conception, as it was intended by the Angry Man of Jazz himself." Pressed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl; remastered sound; containing the full-length versions of all 9 songs (over 12 minutes of additional material). Mixed from the original three-track tapes on an original Presto tube tape recorder.

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Tijuana Moods
Label:	RCA
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	LSP 2533HLP

180 gram exact repro reissue, originally released in 1962. "Bassist/composer Charles Mingus at the time said that this was his greatest recording, and it certainly ranks near the top.... It has often been said that Mingus forced and pressured his sidemen to play above their potential, and that is certainly true of this project. Altoist Shafi Hadi (who doubles on tenor) is in blazing form on 'Ysabel's Table Dance,' while trumpeter Clarence Shaw (who was praised by Mingus for his short lyrical solo on 'Flamingo') sounds quite haunting on 'Los Mariachis.' Trombonist Jimmy Knepper and drummer Dannie Richmond made other great recordings, but they are in particularly superior form throughout this session, as is the obscure pianist Bill Triglia. Completing the band is Ysabel Morel on vocals and Frankie Dunlop on castanets.... this stirring music belongs in every jazz collection, for it does represent one of Charles Mingus' finest hours." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	MINGUS, CHARLES
Title:	Tonight At Noon
Label:	WATER
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	WATER 129CD

"Despite the scattered recording history of the five tracks that comprise this album (two separate sessions -- one from 1957, the other four years later -- were used), the result is pretty cohesive. It took another three years before the actual album was released in 1964. Mingus and his steady backing crew (the same musicians that supported him on the eminent The Clown and Oh Yeah respectively) chart some rarely explored stylistic territory. The later date features the more refined, and characteristic, songs of the bunch; the 1957 session races around Eurocentric rhythms for a feeling of rushed exuberance. It's hardcore jazz at its most celebratory, with master Mingus up front leading the charge."

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