Customer Reviews

Charles Mingus & Friends

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This live CD is a beautiful recording of a big band featuring Charles Mingusc performing a number of his great compositions. Especially "Eh's flat, Ah's flat too" and "Us is two" present a band that is really going for it. The result is a thrilling performance, that keeps you hoping these tunes never stop. The performance of "Little royal suite" gives a young Jon Faddis who, according to the liner notes, never played the music before and obviously didn't need explanations on the score. Indeed, he didn't. The liner notes are weird, to say the least. The part by Sy Johnson, the arranger for this concert, shows some sort of reluctance to be proud of the achievement the band made, even in hindsight. No need to, I think. The photographs in the booklet are beautiful too. Bill Cosby, dressed in whatever was in style at that time, hilarious to say the least. This is CD-set every Mingus fan should own.

I found this rare February 1972 recording showcasing Charlie Mingus backed by an all star New York Jazz line-up to be spectacular. The album marked Mingus' return to the public eye after an extended hiatas. Comedian Bill Cosby is the MC and even does a cute little scat vocal with Dizzy Gillespie. Featured artists included Gerry Mulligan, Gene Ammons and drummer Joe Chambers.

The stand-out piece has to be the 20 minute 'Little Royal Suite' featuring a (then) 18 year old Jon Faddis on trumpet, displaying amazing prowess in the upper register. He steals the show! Mingus himself has very limited solo space showing how generous he was to let his sidemen be heard instead.

This a must have for any Mingus fans collection.

This is an often entertaining album, but definately not prime Mingus. This album was recorded in '73 to initiate Mingus' long awaited return to jazz. The arrangements are a bit overcrowded, rarely showcasing Mingus on bass.

As an interesting addition, the young Bill Cosby MCs the event, and even spins off a silly scat vocal on one piece.

Interesting versions of "Ecclusiastics" and "The E's Flat and the Ah's Flat Too," but definately not the definitive cuts.

After you have picked up earlier Mingus live sets such as MINGUS AT ANTIBES, MINGUS AT WONDERLAND, REVENGE, and LIVE AT THE BOHEMIA, this is a nice addition to the Mingus live collection.

Some parts of this recording are magic moments in my love affair with Charles Mingus. The opening number, "Jump Monk" grabs me by the solar plexus and has solid solos by Gene Ammons and a few others. "Us Is Two" swings with joyful verve, highlighted by solos by Gene Ammons, Bobby Jones, and Charles McPherson. "Mingus Blues" features Gene Ammons and Mingus in a raucous duet.
You get my drift: the previous reviewer who downgrades this recording for having too much Gene Ammons is wrong. Gene adds greatly to this event.
This is an important milestone for Mingus. He had been inactive for several years. Observers said he suffered from depression, and rarely performed between his triumphant 1964 European tour and this comeback in 1972. The greats of jazz agreed to turn out for this historic return: Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, James Moody. Bill Cosby was the host, and did his best to enliven the concert.
I can picture in my mind the sight of Mingus and Gene Ammons, both overweight, standing on the stage of Lincoln Center, playing their heart out.
Gene continues his brilliance in the opening solo in "E"s Flat, Ah's Flat Too." (Isn't that a wonderful title?). Several jazz giants solo on this number.
Not every number of this concert is a keeper, but I'm sure if you get this recording, you will be well satisfied.
NOTE: If you want to hear a great recording by Mingus during his period of inactivity, listen to "Pythacanthropus Erectus" recorded in 1970 in Europe. I draw your attention to the magnificent Bobby Jones on tenor sax on both the recording reviewed here and "Pythacanthropus Erectus."

Very nice Charles Mingus show from around 1972.

Mingus' albums were always musically cohesive and conceptual, be it the simple, Oh Yeah or complex The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady.

This concert concentrates on a complex symphonic bop. Some great music here but not among the master's most intense.

Bill Cosby is MC: pleasant, but the between song announcements keep this from flowing as most of Mingus' albums do. As the master may have said, this album suffers from Mingus concertous interruptous.

Even if you don't buy or download this entire recording, you MUST purchase "Little Royal Suite" if you are any kind of Mingus or jazz fan. This magnificent piece of music runs the gamut from big band to ensemble jazz to classical to avante garde, and even to blues, with nary a misstep. I won't expound on Mingus' jazz brillance; that is well documented. I will only say: It was rarely better documented than here. Sure, there are other pleasures to be had on this recording, and I certainly do recommend the whole package. However, if you're going to pick and choose, pick this. Choose this. It's a mind-bending musical work.

There was once a recording issued in this man's named called 'Epitaph.' Were I he, I'd want this piece of music as my epitaph. Had I written this, in fact, I would die a happy man. I'm certainly happy listening to it.

Overall, this is a brilliant showcase for some of Mingus's best tunes in big band + format.

Now, the criticisms: I agree with what someone said above that some of the arrangements are "overcrowded," with some of the intricacy and subtleness for Mingus's work being blocked out. Multiple soloists at one time doesn't always work. The band also obviously flubs "Little Royal Suite" - if you listen around the 10-minute mark, you can hear Mingus shouting out a measure number. Because of this, one of the most interesting ensemble parts of the song is totally cut out in place of a few desperately substituted solos.

I like Gene Ammons, but after listening to this concert I feel like I've heard enough him for about three months. He solos on almost every song, edging out more interesting improvisers like Charles McPherson, Bobby Jones, Jon Faddis, and, of course, Mingus himself. He's like the 15-year old star player in the school band who always has to get in a solo. After Jon Faddis brilliantly leads the band through most of "Little Royal Suite," Ammons butts in at the end with yet another blues solo, stealing a lot of Faddis's well-deserved thunder. His blues playing is great, but it gets repetitive and he misses some more interesting harmonic vehicles for improvisation.

That said, a great live performance of Mingus's work. There are tighter arrangements out there (see "Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus," for example), and albums with better selections of tunes, but it's a must-have for any Mingus fan. Check out "Ecclusiastics" - in my opinion, this is the way it was meant to be played - with joyous choir parts that will give you chills. The smaller group arrangements can't match the power and emotion of this one. Bobby Jones's solo is pretty brilliant as well.