Money Jungle

Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: September 17, 1962
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005H4K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,295 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
What an alliance: a legendary bandleader and composer, a pioneering bop drummer, and an unclassifiable (and often prickly) bass behemoth. It's no wonder that the tension between Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charlie Mingus is thick and extremely tangible, permeating this breathtaking 1962 album with passion and aggression. On the jagged blues "Very Special," Ellington establishes a weighty mood while his piano work almost borders on free jazz. Roach's sticks dance and prance across every inch of his kit on "A Little Max"; on "Caravan" he effectively shifts from exotic rhythms to straight time. Duke's harmonic invention is delicate and mysterious on "Fleurette Africaine," but simultaneously jarring and cerebral on the confrontational "Wig Wise." It's hard to believe only three people are creating the stomping, disjointed monster that is the title track. Ellington alone emphasizes the beautiful melodies of the classic ballads "Soltitude" and "Warm Valley," but the edge returns when the rhythm section joins him. Mingus, who actually idolized Ellington, seems to be purposely agitating the master, almost taunting him. You'd say the synergy was magical, except that they seem to be working against each other. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description
Japanese 20bit Mastered Re-Issue.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb trio work, June 20, 2000

By	Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Put three legends together in a studio and you you can't be sure what you'll get. Fortunately, in the case of "Money Jungle," the combination of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach produced a superb performance that bristles with musical genius.

Don't worry if you sometimes find piano trios -- particularly those recorded in the studio -- lacking an edge. Ellington, Mingus and Roach bring enormous vitality to every cut on the release. We get the best of all worlds here in that you can feel the room crowded by three big, strong musical egos. But you can also hear the respect the three have for one another in the way they listen to each other and aren't afraid to give each other plenty of room to speak.

Mingus's enormous tone on his bass leads the way into many of the tunes, including the opener, "Very Special," but Roach makes plenty of room for himself, dominating, for example, "A Little Max," inappropriately named only because the tune is a lot of Max.

Ellington's playing is superb throughout. So many of his compositions are marvels of sophistication and exquisite taste and subtlety that it's pleasantly surprising to hear him remind us of his blues roots with earthy tunes like "Rem Blues," "Switchblade," and "Backward Country Boy Blues." Then there's the delicate beauty of the wonderful "Solitude." I'm not always much for alternate takes, but I was glad to hear this great tune a second time.

"Money Jungle" reminds us that sometimes in jazz, there's not much new under the sun. While it was recorded in 1962, it sets a standard for jazz trio that we can see now has not often -- if ever -- been met.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, August 20, 2001

By	Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Somehow I managed to be a jazz fan for over 30 years and yet never heard this album until last week. All I can say is- wow!

Just the treat of hearing Mingus and Roach- perhaps the finest rhythm section players of the post-war era- playing together is enough of a treat. Add the rare experience of hearing Duke Ellington (whom Mingus worshipped) playing in a trio, and you've got something really special. Put all three of them together and an incredible experience. Mingus and Roach's powerful playing seesm to be almost taunting the Duke, pushing him to play beter. And he responds with stunning, firey playing.

If you're a jazz fan and you haven't heard this album, buy it now. Or buy two, in case you lose one. It's right up there with "Kind of Blue", "A Love Supreme" and "Mingus Ah Um" as one of the greatest jazz albums ever made.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT RECORD--BUT GET REMASTERED VERSION!!, November 28, 2003

By	Harvey M. Canter (tarzana, ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I won't go into depth on this amazing record--'cuz I ain't that deep! An amazing album, the one that really got me into jazz. I originally had it on vinyl, and the record has an unbelievable sense of drama and pace as it goes from song to song. This older, original CD release always annoyed me because the tracks are in the order they were recorded at the sessions, in order to preserve the "historical value". Well, that is really dumb. That is like putting out a version of a movie in the order they shot it day by day, rather than the final assembled version that hits the screen. On Money Jungle version 1, each song is great, but the old CD lost the power of the sequencing. I used to reprogram the order on my CD player to get it right--but what a pain! They should have released it in the proper, final sequence, then told you what order to program it in if (for some bizarre reason) you wanted to hear it in the "historical" sequencing. Isn't it just as "historical" to release it in the order that Messrs. Ellington et. al. thought it should go in? I've just never seen a packaging move that was so stupid--especially coming from a label like Blue Note, one of the great prestige labels.Fortunately, I just noticed there is a newer REMASTERED version that is in the proper order and with some xtra cuts. So it is off to one-click that baby and trade the old one in! Seriously folks, a truly amazing, far-out, gorgeous album by three serious cats. Get it, daddy-o!