SAVEDOFF, Allen: Standing on Chairs

This 78 minute black & white and color DVD documentary includes rare, previously unpublished photos, newly unearthed performance footage, & private interviews.

Langston Hughes (1902–67) was an American poet, novelist, social activist and playwright whose work showcased the dignity and beauty in ordinary black life. His African-American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The hours he spent in Harlem clubs affected his work, making him one of the innovators of “Jazz Poetry.” Hughes’ poetry is still powerful and contemporary today. The Langston Hughes Project came from jazz guitarist Larry Simon, who is the founder of JazzMouth, unique festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that combines jazz and spontaneous music with readings by some of the finest poets. Hughes’ texts are brought to life by the rich, soulful delivery of Eric Mingus, son of Charles Mingus. For some years he worked as a session musician and backing singer, playing on dates with artists such as Carla Bley, Bobby McFerrin and Karen Mantler. He has also performed with the Mingus Big Band, Elliott Sharp’s Terraplane, Todd Rundgren, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Catherine Sikora and Levon Helm, and a featured performer in many of Hal Willner’s projects. Simon also brought David Amram — composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and author — to the project. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz, folk and world music led him to work with Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Charles Mingus, Levon Helm and Betty Carter. Amram has composed more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works, and written many scores for Broadway theater and film, including the classic scores for the films Splendor in The Grass and The Manchurian Candidate. Amram collaborated with Hughes on the cantata "Let us Remember." Importantly, in the 1950s Amram collaborated in clubs with Langston Hughes and Jack Kerouac on the spontaneous creation of words and music which came to be known as “jazz/poetry.” And jazz/poetry is what “Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper” is. Half of the poems find Mingus with Amram on piano, as a duo. The instrumentally varied balance of the album are Mingus duos with electric guitar or Hammond organ; with woodwinds and percussion or larger ensembles.

This is one of the last recordings made by the late Charles Mingus. The session was recorded in New York during November of 1977 under the auspices of Lionel Hampton and amongst the 10 strong line-up of musicians were Gerry Mulligan, baritone sax, Woody Shaw, trumpet and long time Mingus collaborators, Ricky Ford, tenor sax and Dannie Richmond, drums.

Rare Mingus tracks unavailable for decades, reassembled as a stand-alone album The sequel to Incarnations, which charted in the CIMS Top 40 in 2023.

Rare Mingus tracks unavailable on vinyl for decades, reassembled as a stand-alone album The sequel to Incarnations, which charted in the CIMS Top 40 for RSD Black Friday 2023 180g vinyl remastered by Bernie Grundman

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. A1. Bugs (Take 3) A2. R&R (Take 1) B1. All The Things You Are (All) *Previously Unreleased B2. Reincarnation Of A Love Bird (2nd Version, Take 1) B3. Body And Soul (Take 6)

Softpack Wallet- Remastered by Bernie Grundman. The combo here, referred to by Mingus as The Jazz Workshop, had been in residence at the Showplace on W. 4th St. In Greenwich Village for nearly a year when they entered the studio to record what became the album Charels Mingus Presents Charles Mingus in October of 1961. To recreate this atmosphere, Mingus introduces the songs as if he were speaking to the audience, giving off the illusion of a live album. The charade paid off.

180gm Tip-on Jacket Remastered by Bernie Grundman. The combo here, referred to by Mingus as The Jazz Workshop, had been in residence at the Showplace on W. 4th St. In Greenwich Village for nearly a year when they entered the studio to record what became the album Charels Mingus Presents Charles Mingus in October of 1961. To recreate this atmosphere, Mingus introduces the songs as if he were speaking to the audience, giving off the illusion of a live album. The charade paid off. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes written by Hentoff himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these magnificent performances.

Charles Mingus -Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Studio Recordings - The story of a new phase in Mingus' music - his last phase - begins with the recordings in this boxed set. Featuring all of his 1970's output for Atlantic Records, all configurations of the album include previously unreleased outtakes of "Big Alice", "The Call" and "Music For Todo Modo". There is also an extra set of takes of "Big Alice" and "The Call" on an Outtakes disc exclusive to the vinyl format. The sets release Spring 2023, with both an 8LP and 7CD configuration as well as Digital Download and Streaming options.

Two CDs. The greatest bassist leader jazz has ever known, Charles Mingus, with his spirited playing and spontaneity, always kept his ears and fingers on the pulse. "Mingus was something else, man," Miles Davis wrote in his own book. "A pure genius, I loved him." This year marks the birth centenary of Charles Mingus, whose musical legacy is still ongoing. Originally released in 1957 on the Jubilee label, Mingus Three is one of only two albums led by Mingus in a trio setting, featuring pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Dannie Richmond. This remastered release includes a whole extra disc of previously unreleased outtakes, discovered by chance, from these sessions, as well as liner notes by Charles Mingus' friend and colleague Sy Johnson.

Charles Mingus - "The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott's" - The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott's is an unreleased live recording of jazz icon Charles Mingus from Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London captured in August 1972. It features alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, tenor saxophonist Bobby Jones, trumpeter Jon Faddis, pianist John Foster, and drummer Roy Brooks. Deluxe 3 CD Digipak includes an extensive insert with rare photos, essays, and new interviews with Charles McPherson, Fran Lebowitz, and bass icons Eddie Gomez and Christian McBride.

This 2-CD set was recorded on October 31, 1970 in a single, sleepless night, the fleeting space of a session that took place almost undetected and in a sort of urgent calm. The first CD includes the America Masters previously released on vinyl only. The second CD includes all the alternate takes and comments and directions by Charles Mingus during the sessiontakes. It's fascinating piece of Jazz history.

The great bassist and composer Charles Mingus had his diehard supporters and detractors. His explosive intermingling of devil may care attitude, imposing character and aggressive music was sure to rub some listeners the wrong way and was just as likely to attract adventurous fans. But his genius could not be denied; it just may have taken some time to break down barriers. // A good way to examine this change in listener attitudes is to investigate the differences in critical appraisals from two performances in the port city of Bremen, Germany, a decade apart. The initial performance in 1964 introduced Mingus's firebrand ways to an unsuspecting audience while his 1975 appearance was met with the expectancy of jazz royalty. The performances appear in their first official release remastered from the original source tapes on Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975. // Both of Mingus's performances in Bremen are incredible marathons of brilliance from the top musicians of two decades. The performances don't show a wilting in the passion of the leader. A decade apart, the performances are every bit as cutting edge. The only thing that seems to have changed was the attitude of the critical mind, as ten years of achievement had cemented Mingus's legacy in Europe.