Label: Impulse (LP)
Tracks #2 and 3, recorded in New York on January 20, 1963
Tracks #1 and 4-7, recorded in New York on September 20, 1963
Reissued : 2006 CD Impulse!
Jazz
Having completed what he (and many critics) regarded as his masterwork in The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Charles Mingus' next sessions for Impulse found him looking back over a long and fruitful career. Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus is sort of a "greatest hits revisited" record, as the bassist revamps or tinkers with some of his best-known works. The titles are altered as well — "II B.S." is basically "Haitian Fight Song" (this is the version used in the late-'90s car commercial); "Theme for Lester Young" is "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"; "Better Get Hit in Your Soul" adds a new ending, but just one letter to the title; "Hora Decubitus" is a growling overhaul of "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"; and "I X Love" modifies "Nouroog," which was part of "Open Letter to Duke." There's also a cover of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," leaving just one new composition, "Celia." Which naturally leads to the question: With the ostensible shortage of ideas, what exactly makes this a significant Mingus effort? The answer is that the 11-piece bands assembled here (slightly different for the two separate recording sessions) are among Mingus' finest, featuring some of the key personnel (Eric Dolphy, pianist Jaki Byard) that would make up the legendary quintet/sextet with which Mingus toured Europe in 1964. And they simply burn, blasting through versions that equal and often surpass the originals — which is, of course, no small feat. This was Mingus' last major statement for quite some time, and aside from a solo piano album and a series of live recordings from the 1964 tour, also his last album until 1970. It closes out the most productive and significant chapter of his career, and one of the most fertile, inventive hot streaks of any composer in jazz history.
By Steve Huey. AMG.
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For bassist/composer Charles Mingus, many of the leading edge trends of the late '50s-early '60s did not significantly alter his musical outlook--an outlook he had been nurturing since the 1940s when he first made his mark as Baron Mingus. "Mingus, The Composer" was Charlie Parker's affectionate commission for the Californian bassist, who first made waves with "Mingus Fingers" for Lionel Hampton's big band in 1948. As a result, when Miles came along with fresh notions of modality, Mingus could point to his own decade-long work with pedal point. Likewise, when Ornette Coleman introduced his free form, non-chordal approach to blues and modern jazz, Mingus responded with his legendary Booker Ervin/Eric Dolphy/Ted Curson/Dannie Richmond ensemble (MINGUS AT ANTIBES), extending on ideas he'd been developing for years ("Pithecanthropus Erectus").
Part of what makes MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS such a rich, enduring, listening experience is in the way it delineates the major themes and streams in Mingus' writing, and all of his idiomatic gestures and tonal colors. The rough-hewn polyphony of "II B.S." (a kissing cousin of "Haitian Fight Song") is driven along by the composer's indomitable, thrusting bass line, reflecting the experience of early New Orleans ensembles. Multiple voices syncopate to create a rich melodic fabric and ferocious rhythmic intensity, spotlighting the sanctified tenor voice of Booker Ervin. On his own "I X Love" and a brilliant cover of Ellington's "Mood Indigo," Mingus displays a genius for film noir textures and elaborate timbral contrasts worthy of the Duke.
"Celia" also begins with Ellingtonian plumage, but in its use of contrasting tempos and wildly divergent reed and brass voicings (from tuba and baritone sax on up to flutes and oboes) Mingus zeroes in on his own particular brand of emotional turbulence. In a corresponding mode, there's his rocking arrangement of "Better Get Hit In Yo' Soul," with its fleet 6/8 pulse, old time hosannas and the roaring commentary of an unruly congregation. Equally famous is Mingus' tender portrayal of Lester Young on "Goodbye Porkpie Hat," with its piping reeds, moaning brass and signature Ervin solo. Mingus announces "Hora Decubitus" with some resounding double-stops, before launching into a fierce display of swing and ensemble interplay, culminating in some Eric Dolphy fireworks. And in a remarkable coda to the original sessions, there's the dark poetry of an unissued "Freedom," with its evocation of work songs, the liberating beat of modern jazz, and the joyous release of the blues.
From CD Universe.
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Charles Mingus- (Piano, Bass);
Jerome Richardson- (soprano & Baritone Saxophones);
Eric Dolphy- (Alto Saxophone, Flute);
Charles Mariano- (Alto Saxophone);
Dick Hafer- (Tenor Saxophone, Flute);
Booker Ervin- (Tenor saxophone);
Rolf Ericson, Eddie Preston, Richard Williams - Trumpets;
Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson- (Trombones);
Don Butterfield- (Tuba);
Jaki Byard- (Piano);
Jay Berliner- (Guitar);
Walter Perkins, Dannie Richmond- (Drums).
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Side One:
A1- II B.S. 4:43
A2- I X Love 7:00
A3- Celia 6:10
A4- Mood Indigo (Duke Ellington/Barney Bigard) 4:37
Side Two:
B1- Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul 6:30
B2- Theme for Lester Young 5:36
B3- Hora Decubitus 4:40
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