Customer Reviews

Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus

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This is one of those albums where, for whatever reason, a group got together and nailed it better than they ever had in the past. They read each others minds, locked in, and played music that spoke on a higher level than any of the four guys were normally capable of. And, lucky for us, the tape was rolling. Like Miles' 'Kind of Blue', like Ellington's 'Live at Newport', this is one of those moments that demostrate what an amazing art form Jazz can be.

This was recorded during Mingus' Jazz Workshop days. His group (Dannie Richmond, Ted Curson, & Eric Dolphy) had a regular club gig, but rather than 'perform' in the traditional sense, they would basically hold live rehearsals: try new things, experiment, learn, & grow. This particular group had been together for a while and was soon coming to an end (Dolphy was about to strike out on his own). Mingus pulled them into the studio to cut what they had been doing on wax.

Although a studio recording, Mingus treats it just like a regular Workshop club date, he even talks to the 'audience' (admonishing them, in true Mingus fashion, to please be quiet so they don't bother the band!). The opening bars of 'Folk Forms No. 1' almost have a 'here we go again...' quality. No one expected the night to go as well as it did. You can hear their enthusiasm build as the album plays, the energy level increases to stirring levels as the guys realize that they are making history here.

This album contains the definitive version of 'Fables of Faubus' (with Dannie Richmond screaming furiously at Gov. Faubus), and a fiery 'All the Things You Could Be...'. However, the crowning achievement of the date is 'What Love'. This is the track that put Eric Dolphy on the map for me. The piece culminates around a 'conversation' between Mingus' bass and Dolphy's bass clarinet...much, much better than the version on 'Live at Antibes'. This is probably the most expressive, evocative piece of musicianship that I know of. The liner notes offer a translation of what is 'said', but to me its stunning not for the words but the emotions that are expressed. Two bright stars (Dolphy, it would turn out, a Supernova) sharing feelings probably the only way they, as men, knew how.

You'd expect Mingus & Dolphy to steal the show, but that's not to say the other guys had a bad night. The highly under-rated Ted Curson lays it down something fierce, and Richmond is his usual 'united-with-Mingus-at-the-sub-atomic-level', hard swinging, high energy self.

A must-have for Mingus fans, and a great introduction to what he was about besides playing the hits on 'Mingus Ah-Hum'. Beyond that, this album is a stunning testament to the power of improvised music.

This is one of my favorite all out no holds barred jazz albums. I'm more of a fan of the smaller units simply because you can hear each individual instrument better. Everyone playing on this simply grooves and the sound is Basic, Raw and actual seems like the live album it supposedly is.

Eric Dolphy's circular improvisation style is hear, full of sudden starts and stops in just the right places. Ted Curson's trumpet playing is just as good and in some spots, the two horns can be heard switching leads and intertwining so much that sometimes its hard to tell which is Curson and which is Dolphy.

Mingus himself obviously gets a more upfront role in this quartet than in his big band work. Some of the bass lines and solos he creates send my head bobbing and weaving.
Of course no great Mingus album is without the hard driving drums of Dannie Richmond.

As far as the actual pieces my favorite are the first two, FOLK FORMS NO. 1 and ORIGINAL FAUBUS FABLES. The former starts the album off with a bang and is more straight ahead bop style jazz than anything else on here. It is the 2nd longest piece but it goes by fast. Everyone takes a pretty even part in it as well.

ORIGINAL FAUBUS FABLES is the unrealeased version of the piece that appears on AH UM but this includes the intended vocals. A sarcastic "tribute" to racist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus who tried to prevent black students from attending the University despite federal law. Mingus and Dannie Richmond sing lines like, "Why is he so sick and ridiculous?...Dannie Richmond?" "They brain wash and teach you hate!!" the two yell. "Boo Nazi Facist Extremists!" " Governor Faubus!!" Its more something you have to hear for yourself.

WHAT LOVE takes things down a notch and is more of a ballad type piece. This is the longest cut and it can get long to listen to all the time especially after the first 2. The highlight of this however is the famed "conversation" that Eric Dolphy and Mingus have through the voices of their instruments. If you've never heard it you should, its magical. It sounds as if they are actual verbalizing, slowly "saying" things like "hey whats up?" "Yeah?" Yeah." They ask each other more chit chat type questions and answers, Then it gets more intense slowly rising until they are at one point "screaming" at each other, but they settle their differences before things get too much out of hand.

The last piece ALL THE THINGS YOU COULD BE BY NOW IF SIGMUND FREUD'S WIFE WAS YOUR MOTHER, is not as strange as you might think. Its more a mid tempo ballad but not as standout as anything else on the album, still good though.

This was the first album I heard from Mingus and Dolphy and it remains in my top five jazz album list to this day. Its the raw emotion, passion, sensitivity, humor, and skill that the genre Jazz really means, A MUST OWN OR MUST LISTEN TO ALBUM!

Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus is a very essential jazz album. This album really captures the turmoil that would surround jazz in the 1960s. Charles Mingus, easily one of the best jazz bassists of all time, leads an incredible quartet, including Ted Curson on trumpet, Eric Dolphy on sax (and many other instuments) and, of course, Dannie Richmond on drums. With a band that good, it would be hard to make a not great album. This album, however, is incredible.

Of the four songs on the album, there is not one that I would not call incredible. The album starts off with Mingus telling the imaginary "audience" to not applaud, ring the cash register or rattle the ice in their drinks. Mingu sthen introduces the band and the go into Folk Forms, No. 1. This is possibly the most complex songs on the album and one of the best. Mingus' bassline is great and Dolphy sax is incredible. Next, the band plays the highly contraversial Original Faubus Fables, which is a type of protest song against the racist governor of Arkansas who segregated schools. Mingus and Richmond sing over the classic bass and saxophone line, leading to some really increible solos by Dolphy and Curson. The band follows this with What Love, which is more of a slow, ballad. The musicianship is still incredible. The last song, All the Things You Could Be By Now If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother, is more then just a great title. It closes of the album with the same level of excellence as the other three songs.

I'm not sure of any album is flawless, but Mingus Presents Chalres Mingus comes extremely close. The music is incredible and complex, and all four songs are jazz masterpieces that you will need to listen to at least three of four times. An essentila album to fans of the legendary bassist and to anybody interested in jazz.

The engineer who transferred this landmark innovative jazz session should have turned down the job once he heard the source material provided to him. The original 1960 recording was done in two-channel format, intended for a mono mix. Around 1970, a two-channel copy generations removed from the original tape was used to master the Barnaby label LP of this recording. 30 years later, someone in the UK who has licensed the Candid label name sends this tape (or an even later generation copy) to an engineer who clearly has no conception of the historical significance of what he's listening to. Radical noise reduction completes the vandalism.

Fortunately, two alternatives to this CD exist. Pure Pleasure Records, whose products are distributed by Acoustic Sounds online, did their diligence and located a pristine mono master of the original recording. The LP is pressed on quiet 180-gram vinyl, and reveals the full emotional range of this unique session in the Mingus discography.

The other alternative is a 3-CD set entitled "Complete 1960 Net Hentoff Sessions" just released by one of the EU labels that are reissuing out-of-copyright jazz recordings. According to the Steve Hoffman forum, this set was likely copied from the Mosaic 3-CD box set of Mingus' Candid recordings. Amazon sells the "Nat Hentoff" set:

Complete 1960 Nat Hentoff Sessions

The "Mingus Presents Mingus" portion of Nat Hentoff 1960 set is derived from the superior mono tape.

If you love music, if you treasure the contributions of Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, do yourself a favor and buy the Pure Pleasure Records reissue. If you already own this CD, get the LP and do an A/B comparison. The difference is astonishing.

Although the sound on this CD is less than great, to give it less than 5 stars would be a crime. The performances here are fantastic. At the start of the CD, Mingus tells the audience not to talk, clap, ring the cash register, or rattle the ice in their glasses. The first time I heard this intro, I laughed. Now I realize that Mingus was setting the stage for a band whose utter and complete concentration was essential for their performance. Any outside intrusion could throw them off. The music ranges from simple and beautiful to satirical and enraged (the vocal version of "Original Faubus Fables" is a treasure) to utter chaos, but Mingus somehow steers his band clear of any obnoxious free-jazz indulgence.

I initially picked this disc up desperate to hear more Eric Dolphy, and I was not disappointed. His solos and interplay with Mingus, Richmond, and Curson are fantastic.

In short, if you are a Mingus fan or a Dolphy fan and you don't have this disc, you're really missing out.

Charles Mingus - truly one of a kind...This album is one of his best as far as improvisation goes..Eric Dolphy and Ted Curson are on fire! Mingus also delivers some inspired playing..and the general sound of the group is very free..which contrasts nicely with Mingus' airtight compositional style. I would also like to recommend his album titled 'Mingus' also on the candid label (in fact all of Mingus' work during this period is phenomenal).

this is truly one of the great jazz recordings. to me "folk forms" especially is group improv at its highest, each guy jumping off the other, swirling in and out, abandoning standard "you take a solo and then i'll take one" . danny richmond drives mingus in their duet, dolphy and curson are on fire, and it swings. church music.

Charles Mingus during his lifetime bristled at his music being labeled "free jazz". However, his unique style and changes in tonality obviously were highly influential on later free jazz musicians. Also taking the influence of the big band sound and making it dissonant certainly was noted by later musicians. What put me off from listening to this cd at first is the fact that Mingus speaks during some of the pieces. However, his "introduction" to the pieces, as if an audience were there is a hilarious parody of live jazz albums where the musicians feels like they have to "explain" each piece. Also his take on racism, "Original Fauvus Fables" was powerful for its time. Spoken word over free jazz albums became more common after this, eventually culminating in the Last Poets, a proto-rap group. Charles Mingus' band with Eric Dolphy was not only his best group, it is one of the greatest jazz groups of all time. It still sounds contemporary and is jolting, not aimless jams but a fully focused sucker punch.

Mingus's recording career was long and varied and spanned many labels. That's a boon for the serious jazz listener, but the sheer number of recordings makes knowing where to start difficult. I'd nominate "Presents Charles Mingus" as a great starting point. Beyond that, I think it's one of the great recordings in modern jazz.

Mingus had one of his best bands together for "Presents": the great Eric Dolphy; trumpeter Ted Curson; and constant musical companion drummer Dannie Richmond. All step firmly into Mingus's musical world and deliver inspired performances.

One could go on and on about the power of these performances, from Mingus's rumbling bass, to Dolphy's torrential attacks on alto and bass clarinet, to Curson's swaggering trumpet, to Richmond's faultless accompaniment. The words, however, would not capture what simple, uninterrupted listening accomplishes. But I will simply point to the band's astonishing ability to change tempos, seemingly without effort, as evidence of the remarkable level of musicianship that each member possessed.

I always admired Mingus's penchant for reworking material and finding new ways to play it. "Presents" offers new evidence of this, as on "Original Fables of Faubus," his stinging attack on the racist Arkansas governor of the civil rights era. This version features Mingus and Richmond taunting Faubus behind the tune's famous mocking musical line as a warmup for Dolphy and Curson, who deliver solos of deeply satisfying depth and intensity. It's interesting to compare this version with the one presented on "Mingus Ah Um." No offense to the earlier one, but the version here is, for me, much the more memorable of the two.

Much credit for the quality of this recording goes to Nat Hentoff, who was the driving force behind the Candid label, a lamentably brief effort to give musicians creative control over their recordings. Mingus and company take full advantage on this great release, a must for any good jazz CD collection.

You know, this is definitely one of Mingus's lesser know works. Fourtunately enough, Ken Burns featured this record along with Fables of Faubus on his Jazz series, so more people may check this record out. Instantly one becomes intrigued by this album due to Mingus's "conversation with the audience". What is happening here? Don't applaud? Don't drink? Bother the band? Our noise? And then.... The band rips into your senses with Folk Forms, NO 1! The band moves from tight grooves to loose whaling from the soul. Dolphy hits the sanctified notes, and Curson fires out some hot stuff (woo weeee). And of course need I say anything about Mingus and Richmond???? Faubus Fables??? What is this about??? Oh, I see. These guys also have a message. And they proceed to challenge the art of jazz while expressing it. What Love? What Love, the ballad of the disc. Yeah, What talent, what feeling, what energy!!!!! What Love!!! And of course the MEAN song for all mothers, "All the things you could be by now if Sigmund Freud's wife was your mother" These guys tear into this composition's lighting fast runs, and off timing. And Mingus's bass, man, I was and am still floored by that. Hey, I wonder if the band would be bothered if we DANCED???