Customer Reviews

Mingus Three

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

 

 

Charles Mingus did only four trio appearances on record to my knowledge: this date; the unusual trio with Mingus, Tal Farlow, and leader, vibist Red Norvo; with a very early Paul Bley trio; and "Money Jungle" with Duke Ellington and Max Roach. All were all-star affairs. And this one has the incredibly bluesy pianistics of Hampton Hawes and Mingus' redoubtable long-time stablemate, Danny "HeartBreaker" Richmond.

This is a killer trio date, emphasizing the blues seen from all angles and at all tempos. I literally grew up with this date and have listened to it for many years. "Yesterdays" is a surprise and gives everyone a chance to give excellent solos. Richmond is in a very melodic mood on this date. The track "Dizzy Moods", which has a nice, surprising waltz on the bridge, is dedicated to John Birks Gillespie and receives solid performances. I love Hampton's gut bucket blues intro which surges into the main theme. The exchanges between Richmond and the other members alternating 'eights' is great, especially Hawes.

The best track on the date is an incredible, spare rendition of the old standby "Laura". This is a real Trio performance with Hawes, Mingus, and Dannie taking it slow and giving it a real introspective examination while swinging hard. The repetitive figure played by Mingus makes the arrangement really special, breaking into a beautiful 4/4. Hamps improvisations are wondrous, Mingus backing is especially strong, and Dannie keeps it going with a key accent that lifts the performance at a crucial point. And even the ending gets special treatment with a nice bass/drum effort under Hawes' figures. A great performance by all.

I am so happy this date has made the jump to CD. This is what you want at the last show on Saturday night at your favorite club. A strong bluesy pianist with an equally strong bassist and drummer, swinging away. Sit down, clear your mind, and enjoy a raw, very basic jazz trio. Hamp Hawes was a really special pianist. Five BIG Stars. (Audio CD, with jewel box)

Gambit has issued remastered recordings of this trio, as well as the trio recordings Mingus made with Paul Bley and Art Blakey on one disc called Charles Mingus Legendary Trios. The sound is better IMO, there are bonus tracks, and it's about $6 cheaper.

The music on TRIO is too slow for my liking. This is especially true of "Back Home Blues" and "I Can't Get Started". Even so, I appreciate the immense talent of Mr Charles Mingus which this CD displays. My favourite tunes are "Dizzy Moods" "Summertime" and "Hamps New Blues". The latter is an exceptional display of interplay between Mr Mingus and Mr Danny Richmond (d).

Trio sounds extemporaneous and Mingus excludes angst filled cachophany. Here the rich but easy going bass and the whimsical piano acknowledge each other and share a buoyant happening.

This album is worth buying if only for the very imaginative take on "Summertime". Danny Richmond (drums), as usual, smokes on this track and on this album.

Otherwise, this is a fairly average album. It is well recorded, and is a nice snapshot of Mingus playing in a trio setting. Unfortunately, with the exception of Summertime, it doesn't really show off Mingus's genius as an arranger, and his solo playing here is occasionally [gasp] lackluster.

Of course Mingus doesn't get much help here from Hampton Hawes' consistantly mediocre playing. Their interplay sounds very rudimentary compared to the things Bill Evans and Scott LeFaro were doing a couple of years later.

I don't want to seem harsh on this album. I do listen to it quite a bit, but it doesn't compare favorably to Mingus's greater work.

Mingus chose to work here with Hampton Hawes, a pianist who you'll notice never did rise to greatness. It's a moderately interesting date but not a great one and does not stand with Mingus' best.