Charles Mingus - The Great Concert of Charles Mingus

Recorded "live" in 1964 at the Thibtre des Champs-Ilysie, Paris this 2 CD set, which features Eric Dolphy, is bolstered by two previously unreleased tracks. This is essential Mingus and essential to any jazz collection. Album Description

Great Performance - Poor Recording

Read the other reviews to find out about the performance (it's great), but if you're wondering about the sound quality, I'll tell you that the people doing the recording were amateurs. It's very obvious. On a couple of tracks, you can hear someone repositioning a microphone, banging it against something in the process. These were left off of previous editions, but restored to this one due to historic considerations and the fact that they're good tracks, but the entire disc suffers from improper mic placement. Everybody sounds far away from the microphones.

If you're a Mingus completest, or if sound quality isn't a major concern, you'll want to get this. But if sound quality is a big deal to you, I'd pass. February 19, 2007

Meets and Even Exceeds the Promise of the Title

This is a must for Mingus fans, and for anyone who enjoys the more experimental jazz sounds of the early 60's. Although there are some fairly challenging numbers, others are more accessible to the newcomer. It's probably his best live CD (rivaled only by "Live at Antibes); the introductions by Mingus, the enthusiastic, respectful audience, and the musicians' spontaneity augment the concert feeling. Long unavailable, the 2-CD set captures well over 2 hours of an April 1964 concert in Paris, part of Mingus' first European tour, and boasts a phenomenal lineup including Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, Clifford Jordan, and Dannie Richmond.

Track 1, "A.T.F.W.," alternates between the long complex lines of "A.T." (Art Tatum), and the playful, raggish sounds of "F.W." (Fats Waller), all unified by Mingus' arrangement. Pianist Jaki Byard is all over the map: He plays some bop riffs, then somehow blends this with a New Orleans ragtime sound: It's a kaleidoscopic synthesis of jazz styles. Later, Byard slows the tempo a la Bill Evans, then recapitulates his combination of Waller spirit and Tatum speed. The number is evocative, playful, and light, but also evinces mastery and creativity. Track 2 (just over a minute) is a humorous introduction in which Mingus introduces Johnny Coles` trumpet. According to the liner notes, Coles was hospitalized following a stomach ulcer condition, so Mingus introduced his onstage trumpet.

"So Long Eric" (21:47), like "A.T.F.W.," was not released on the original 3-LP album (America; 003/4/5) due to poor sound quality; Alexis Frenkel's restoration is excellent. Mingus plays the opening riff quietly, then the orchestra enters with typical Mingus assemblage of dissonance , repeated lines, and structured improvisation. Although it's basically a blues piece, it feels ready to burst out of that format at any moment. At a time change, the saxophone does break out into a boppish fast solo; the pairing of the Jordan's long lines and Richmond's punching drums is very effective. The piece changes direction so many times that it's like switching channels on an jazz CD compilation album, yet the emotional content, the tonal center, and the rhythmic constancy preserve its unity. Byard is again brilliant, mixing chords and single notes, and Mingus has some very effective walking bass lines and fast triplets. If this sounds too complex, it isn't, it's an easily enjoyed, and eminently listenable piece. The band quotes "Route 66," from which it seems to borrow much of it harmonic and melodic structure. The composition gets more wild and complex as it proceeds, but this progression is so gradual--like rippling circles turning back onto one another-- that it becomes an organic whole.

On "Orange...,"(Track 4, 14:29) Mingus explains that the piano will play the trumpet part usually performed by the ill Coles. With the deep sounding sax and Dolphy on bass clarinet, the orchestration works. This song has Ellingtonian elegance, to which Mingus adds twists and dissonance. This "mood music" contains several strange voicings backed by Mingus' varying bass tempos and bends, but it returns to the Ellington grand sound later. Byard evens it out with some floaty play. An interesting number that initially requires some concentration. The first CD concludes with "Fables of Faubus," a melodic number that ridicules the segregationist Governor of Arkansas, Orville Faubus. There's some excellent ensemble playing, and the band also expresses anger, confusion, and threat. As if leaving the doubts behind, the band breaks into a more swinging sound at times. An innovative version of a superb and brave composition.

Mingus greatly admired Ellington (he played on the band before a fight with Juan Tizol got him fired), and he opens the second set with "Sophisticated Lady." It's a beautiful, lyrical rendition, with a very tender bass solo playing the melody over piano chords and soft drumming. Definitely an antidote to all those bass solo jokes. Mingus' playing is truly exceptional, and it's a thrilling blend of traditional, romantic elements with some more adventurous riffs. Mingus announces that Charles Parker inspired "Parkeriana (Dedicated to a Genius)," another great with whom Mingus played). The composition begins vigorously, with fast riffs on the sax, but he reconstructs the sounds: There's a flat tonal quality, rapid temp changes, Max Roach "bomb" drum shots, and then several returns to a more traditional bop sound. Mingus sets the bop context that centers the piece, even though he never stays with it very long. Byard plays some superb bop-flavored solos (although he returns playfully to the Fats Waller sound of "A.T.F.W."!), and Mingus clearly enjoys it. During these sections, the song loses some of its original intention; it's dominated by Byard's swing. Then Dolphy takes the lead, and it returns to a more abstract bop stance.

Introducing "Meditation On Integration (Or For A Pair of Wire Cutters)" Mingus refers to "the new concentration camps...in America, in the South." There's "electric barbed wire," and Mingus alludes to the possibility of genocide. The piece opens with a motif that eloquently captures Mingus' introduction. The music implies threat, oppression, and suffering. When the tempo increases, the cut sounds like a warning, as well as a call to action. It's one of his best compositions, combining jazz and Stravinsky in a wide-ranging emotional expression that perfectly captures the themes. While the riffs go in different directions, Mingus' driving bass holds it together. Excellent solos by Dolphy and Jordan, with solid propulsive drums by Dannie Richmond. The composition has some amazing passages, especially the mixture and juxtaposition of solo and ensemble statements. About midpoint, the piece slows to an elegiac pace, with Mingus playing a bowed bass that sounds like a cello (which he once studied), and Byard and Dolphy combining on a Debussy-like interlude.

The liner notes include some interesting but poorly written analysis and anecdotes, although the author sets the historical context well. Some listing of solo order and instrumentation (when possible) would have been helpful. Exciting, fun, and bursting with creativity, this performance stands out as an astonishing masterpiece of that most elusive accomplishment: the jazz "long form." May 20, 2005

Landmark performance

This concert from 1964 in Paris has been released many times both legitimately and as a bootleg. It's a classic performance that actually lives up to its billing with one of the greatest Mingus ensembles: Eric Dolphy and Clifforn Jordon on saxophones, Jaki Byard on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums. Trumpeter Johnny Coles was a member of this band, but fell ill before this performance and is not included here.

"ATFW" short for Art Tatum - Fats Waller begins the concert with an example of Jaki Byard's piano artistry as he moves through stride, swing, bop and everything in-between. "So Long Eric" brings out the entire band for a tribute to Dolphy who was preparing to leave the band to embark on a solo career in Europe. Starting with the fanfare like theme, Clifford Jordon gets a deep burning tenor saxophone solo followed by piano. Dolphy enters with an ebullient solo of his own and after that Richmond and Mingus trade fours at the end of the tune. "Orange was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk" gets a very Ellingtonian feel with swinging solos from Jordan and Byard before Dolphy loops in with a solo that instantly modernizes everything.

"Fables of Faubus" begins with the great mocking theme followed by a long tenor saxophone solo - after that the whole band kicks back in with a burning group improvisation. The Duke Ellington composition "Sophisticated Lady" is a bass feature for Mingus who improvises deeply on Duke's beautiful melody. "Parkeriana" is a medly of Charlie Parker songs and sets Eric Dolphy loose on an amazing improvisational flight, and Jordon not to be out done, digs deep into his bebop bag on a lengthy solo. The horn players lay out for Byard's solo which starts out with fleet bop before breaking into a stride interlude to the delight of the audience. Dolphy re-enters and solos again, really showing that his music was the logical extension of Parker's music of the 40's and 50's.

The concert ends with a long performance of Mingus' "Meditations (On Integration)" prefaced by a spoken introduction by the leader before the sad melody begins. Beautiful solos abound from Dolphy's bass clarinet to Mingus' deeply felt bowed bass solo. This was really a landmark performance and it's good to see it widely available. The whole tour was widely bootlegged, so hopefully some more of this amazing music will be rescued and officially released. January 8, 2005

Mingus's best work

The first time I heard this album, I realized how visual this evocative and stunning music is. The band is in top form here; Dolphy and Jordan just outdo themselve on the reeds. Jacki Byard effortlessly jumps from swing to ragtime and Classical music with the ease and drama of Mingus's sudden tempo change. One of the previous reviewers said "Meditations On Integration" was the best Jazz tune ever. Well, I will see his boast and raise him one by calling this spontaneous, passionate masterpiece the greatest piece of music ever created by anyone. January 5, 2005

OO-EE-OO!!

This has been very hard to find for many years. I love Mingus' music. For more than thirty years I have come back to it every six months or so and been moved anew (I listen to everything from Messiaen to Son House to Lightning Bolt). This is my favorite. "Meditations" (including Ming's rant at the beginning -oddly put at the end of Parkerania instead of introducing Meditations) would get my vote for the single greatest piece of music in jazz. The breadth of this music is astonishing, not "free", but unbounded with all the depth in the world. I agree with everything Greg Taylor says in his review. What Ming and Dannie play behind the solos is more powerful than any other rhythm section ever achieved (even Max behind Sonny on Strode Rode and Elvin & co behind Trane on Transition). Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet solo on Meditations is IMHO the best he ever played. The trio of piano, bowed bass, and flute in the final section is mesmerising. Words are inadequate to describe music like this. If you see this, buy it. If you don't like it, make it available to some who will. It's criminal that this has been so hard to find. August 18, 2004

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