Commenting on this album in 1962, Billboard magazine wrote: He seems to be everywhere, everywhere that is but on his usual instrument®. Charles Mingus, one of the most impressive musicians in the history of jazz, doesn't play a single note on the bass for a change, but leads the band from his (blues-)piano - the instrument that he always used for composing. He hits the keys, he sings the blues, he shouts and he encourages - apparently Mingus really found the need to express himself loudly in this album. (Doug Watkins stood in for him on the contrabass. ) "Oh Yeah" is definitely Mingus's most powerful and passionate album. He calls on two hot, intensive saxophonists - Roland Kirk and Booker Ervin - as well as Jimmy Knepper on the trombone. Kirk is the main soloist, but all three wind-players deliver expressive improvisations, carrying out a non-stop dialogue with one another, and pushing one other to achieve maximum energy. The music is wild and ecstatic, but it's not free jazz, remaining - as it does - grounded in blues and gospel. "Hog Callin' Blues" is an enthralling shuffle with a wealth of riffs, "Devil Woman" a clever slow blues with inventive wind figures. "Ecclusiastics", with it's constant change of rhythm and expression alternating between gospel and blues has the most complex form. Blues has always been a part of a black church service, said Mingus. "Eat That Chicken" (a homage to Fats Waller and his favourite food) even plays around with an old-time, Dixie feeling. Humour is never far away. Even in the atomic bomb song (this too, a sort of churchy blues) one hears the words: -Don't let 'em drop it! Stop it! Be-bop it!This Speakers Corner reissue LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under http://www. Pure-analogue. #com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid. Recording: November 1961 at Atlantic Studios, New York City, by Tom Dowd and Phil IehleProduction: Nesuhi ErtegunRelease date: 2/9/2022Original label: Atlantic

(2-LP set) Charles Mingus was to play in numerous concerts in the 60s and 70s; he recorded more than two-dozen official LPs, accused several concert organizers and tour managers of extortionate robbery, and trampled on illegal recording tapes. But the present live recording was made by the ORTF and released officially later by Atlantic Records. It is now re-released after many years and is a rare document in the annals of music history. Recording: July 1960 live at the Antibes Jazz Festival, Juan-les-Pins, France, by Dannie Richmond

Who hasn't got an ancient, worn-out copy of "The Clown" on his shelf, with a tatty cover and torn inner sleeve? Or maybe one of the rare re-releases made of cheap, thin vinyl with dreadful graphic art? And if you haven't heard this gem for a long time, despite the flood of Mingus LPs, CDs and downloads on the market, then you really should seize this opportunity to do so. "The Clown" was, and still is, an absolute must-have for every jazz collector. The small ensemble, only five musicians, came into the New York Atlantic Records studio in March 1957 to record music exclusively composed by the double bassist.

Le 15 mai 1953, au Massey Hall de Toronto, cinq figures majeures du bebop se reunissent pour une apparition unique : Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus et Max Roach. Ce concert devenu legendaire saisit le bebop à son apogee, entre rigueur architecturale et liberte brûlante. Parker et Gillespie y deploient une inventivite fulgurante, portes par une rythmique souple et puissante. Publie en parallèle de l'ouvrage de 234 pages Jazz at Massey Hall, par la plume de Franck Medioni, cet album depasse le simple document historique : instantane aux proprietes quasi divines, il affirme une modernite radicale. Par la reunion de ces sommites musicales, il demeure sans conteste l'un des plus grands concerts de l'histoire du jazz. Patrick FRÉMEAUX On May 15, 1953, at Toronto's Massey Hall, five leading figures of bebop came together for a single appearance: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. This legendary concert captures bebop at it's peak, balancing architectural rigor and blazing freedom. Driven by a powerful rhythm section, Parker and Gillespie display dazzling inventiveness. Released alongside Franck Medioni's 240-page book "Jazz at Massey Hall", this album transcends the historical document to stand as one of the greatest concerts in jazz history. THE QUINTET OF THE YEAR 1 Perdido 8'15 2 Salt Peanuts 7'39 3 All the Things You Are 7'11 4 52nd Street Theme 0'41 MAX ROACH SOLO 5 Drum Conversation 4'34 BUD POWELL TRIO 6 Cherokee 4'52 7 Embraceable You 4'22 8 Jubilee (= Hallelujah) 3'59 9 Sure Thing 2'10 10 Lullaby of Birdland 2'31 11 I've Got You Under My Skin 3'00 THE QUINTET OF THE YEAR 12 Wee (Allen's Alley) 6'48 13 Hot House 9'09 14 A Night in Tunisia 7'36 Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet) Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Bud Powell (piano) Charles Mingus (double bass) Max Roach (drums) DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE & DISCOGRAPHIE : JEAN BUZELIN LIVRET : FRANCK MEDIONI

(summary) "Ellis Island" or the sound odyssey of Julia Hamos, who examines in this very first album her family history, American and Hungarian, while displaying a longing for adventure. A poetic journey that takes us from the Hungary of Bela Bartok and Gyorgy Kurtag to the gates of New York and the recreations of Charles Mingus and Meredith Monk. (complete blurb) "Ellis Island" is an odyssey in sound, the story of a pianist with dual origins, Julia Hamos, who, in this very first album, looks at her family roots, American and Hungarian, and displays a longing for adventure. She looks towards the Hungary of Bartok and Kurtag, engaging in a dialogue with the memory of her ancestors from Transylvania. Originally from the same region as Kurtag, her maternal grandfather knew Ligeti as a child. This journey with it's haunting poetry will lead us also to New York, the pianist's first home, a place of hope and inspiration, which always feeds her creativity. Myself When I Am Real by Charles Mingus bursts forth, a fabulous moment, both poetic and pianistic, the zenith of this unusual and personal journey where the pianist, with a mellow yet clear sound palette, will have brought together in a fluid gesture the waking dreams of Schubert (Ungarische melodie, 1824), the very earthy and despair-tinged folklore of Bartok (Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs) and the torrential and enigmatic explosions of early Kurtag (8 Pieces Op. 3). In this eminently personal journey, however, there is no narcissistic temptation. Because if the young musician plays, she above all wants to speak to us, with modesty, but not without determination. Her piano assembles words, choreographs rhythms, and also deploy it's range of pastels colours. This is demonstrated by the subtle selection of Jatekok, where the piano will embody a thousand faces, in turn itself (Capriccioso), percussion (Play with Overtones), harp (Perpetuum mobile) or violin duet with viola (Tears). The two cycles of Bartok, with their characters so ironically sketched (Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs) and their sparkling rhythms (6 Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm), are no less alive. From the pianist's supple playing, from her silky legato, final streaks of melancholy will often escape. In all respects, "Ellis Island" is a fascinating experience - that of an artist who has found her voice.

Vinyl LP pressing. Described by Mingus himself as "ethnic folk-dance music," The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady is a single song cycle rather than a traditional jazz album of separate tracks. The intricate arrangements and raw emotional swings of the piece make it a highlight of Mingus' career, and one of the most compelling listens in jazz.

Vinyl LP pressing. Described by Mingus himself as "ethnic folk-dance music," The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady is a single song cycle rather than a traditional jazz album of separate tracks. The intricate arrangements and raw emotional swings of the piece make it a highlight of Mingus' career, and one of the most compelling listens in jazz.

Among the most inspirational and innovative composers and musicians of the 20th Century, Charles Mingus remains perhaps jazz music's most accomplished bass player and amongst it's most formidable pianists. His extensive back catalogue of recordings set a new standard in experimentation, blending as it does hard bop with elements of gospel, blues, classical and avant-garde. With a fearsome reputation as a bandleader too, Mingus' guidance resulted in some of the finest performances from the best musicians ever to grace the jazz genre, and his long-standing influence is as potent today as ever it was. This 4CD Set brings together eight of Charles Mingus' lesser known albums, all released during his glory years, between 1952 and 1964. Each LP featured remains a classic in it's own right despite their commercial scarcity and often underrated status. With full original release details and complete musician lists for each record, this set provides over 5 hours of Charles Mingus' musical genius. Available here once again in perfect remastered sound, this collection will prove a delight for long term fans and Mingus beginners alike, offering as it does the chance of completing collections of this legendary jazz maestro universally.

CHARLES MINGUS / MINGUS - At the time of this recording, Mingus had been working regularly with the piano-less quartet of Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond. The same group featured on the 1960 Candid release, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus. The Mingus album, also recorded that year, features one track, "Stormy Weather," recorded with that same quartet, and two tracks recorded with a larger group featuring piano and additional horns. Of note, "MDM (Monk Duke & Me)" consumes the majority of this album. The piece consists of three intertwining themes - Duke Ellington's "Main Stem", Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser", and Mingus' "Fifty First Street Blues." Released in 1961, and recorded in the fall of 1960 by Candid A&R and Producer Nate Hentoff at the Nola Penthouse Sound Studios. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes written by Hentoff, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these magnificent performances.

The Complete Town Hall Concert is a live album by American bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus recorded at The Town Hall in New York City and first released on the United Artists label in 1962 as Town Hall Concert. The album was re-released with additional tracks on the Blue Note label in 1994 as The Complete Town Hall Concert. The concert was originally conceived as a "live workshop" of newly composed music which would be recorded for release by United Artists but rescheduling, lack of rehearsal time, poor sound and interruptions led to the event and subsequent album being considered a disaster.[3] Much of the music intended for the concert/recording was finally realized by conductor Gunther Schuller in a concert in 1989 as Epitaph.

The music Charles Mingus and his group recorded during his landmark 1960 sessions for Candid Records produced three of the most revered jazz albums of the era. INCARNATIONS is a new masterpiece thoughtfully assembled from rare and unreleased material from those sessions that stands proudly in the Mingus canon of masterworks. All but one of the tracks here are from the November 11th, 1960 sessions Mingus and producer Nate Hentoff put together. The date was split into two halves: one a pure Mingus-led date, featuring a six-piece band that expanded into an octet for two additional tunes, and another, a partial reunion of a collective that had assembled in opposition against George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival that past July. (That collective, calling themselves The Jazz Artist Guild, would release the album Newport Rebels, on Candid in 1961.) Of special note here is the one track recorded during the Mingus October 20th 1960 sessions. It is a previously unreleased track titled "All The Things You Are (All.)" Found on a tape that contained material from both of these fall 1960 dates, the piece has it's roots in an Art Tatum rendition of "All the Things You Are," which Mingus had recorded before in various settings. Featuring Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy, Charles McPherson, Ted Curson, Lonnie Hillyer, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Knepper, Britt Woodman, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Bley, Dannie Richmond and Jo Jones. With audio restored and remastered by Bernie Grundman, and liner notes by Pitchfork and New York Times contributor Hank Shteamer, this album is a must have for any Mingus fan.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! 180-gram 45 RPM double LP Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog tape Mingus taps blues and roots sources for a joyous swinging outing! Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings! Gatefold old-style 'tip-on' jacket by Stoughton Printing AllMusic marks Charles Mingus' Blues & Roots as a rejoinder to the critical carping that the virtuoso bass player and accomplished jazz pianist and bandleader and his evocative music 'somehow didn't swing enough.' For this album Mingus turned to the earthiest and earliest sources of black musical expression - blues, gospel, and old-time New Orleans jazz. The resulting album ranks arguably as Mingus' most joyously swinging outing. Recorded in 1959 and released in 1960, Blues & Roots' birth was explained by Mingus in the album's liner notes: 'This record is unusual-it presents only one part of my musical world, the blues. A year ago, Nesuhi Ertegun suggested that I record an entire blues album in the style of 'Haitian Fight Song' (in Atlantic LP 1260), because some people, particularly critics, were saying I didn't swing enough. He wanted to give them a barrage of soul music: churchy, blues, swinging, earthy. I thought it over. I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing. So I agreed.' Anyone who had heard 'Haitian Fight Song' shouldn't have been surprised that such an album was well within Mingus' range. 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. That modern flavor is reinforced and enhanced by the lush Analogue Productions reissue treatment that gives this new version more depth, richer sonic execution and acute audio clarity, particularly in the higher frequencies. Expert mastering from the original master tape by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and two 45 RPM flat-as-a-table 180-gram LP platters from Gary Salstrom and his crew at Quality Record Pressings properly unveil the loose and free-swinging performance. The wider-spaced grooves promote better cartridge tracking and the silent black playing surface stays clear of the audio playback. There's no question of Mingus' firm grounding in the basics on Blues & Roots, writes AllMusic, 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.' Tracklist: 1 Side A 2 1. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting 3 2. Cryin' Blues 4 Side B 5 1. Moanin' 6 Side C 7 1. Tensions 8 2. My Jelly Roll Soul 9 Side D 10 1. E's Flat Ah's Flat Too