A late-career live album by Charles Mingus is an excellent Record Store Day release!
Charles Mingus – Mingus In Argentina/The Buenos Aires Concert – Resonance Records HLP-9077 limited edition 180-gram stereo triple vinyl + 16-page full size booklet,111:02 ****1/2:
Charles Mingus – double bass, piano; Ricky Ford – tenor saxophone; Jack Walrath – trumpet; Robert Neloms – piano; Dennis Richmond – drums)
Iconic bassist, pianist, composer and band leader Charles Mingus studied formally and was a devout jazz fan. As an in-demand sideman, he played with Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Max Reach, Eric Dolphy and Duke Ellington. More importantly, he was one of the first bassist to lead a band. He recorded over 100 albums (30 in one year), and is renowned for composing long pieces, some of which were two hours long. The complexity and trend-setting arrangements were compatible with mid-sized and larger ensembles. Mingus’ styles included gospel, blues, third stream, free jazz and classical. He encouraged large scale improvisation. His most celebrated album, Mingus Ah Um is regarded as one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. It included tracks like “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “Fables Of Faubus”.
Resonance Records has released (for the first time) a limited edition triple vinyl of a 1977 concert, Mingus In Argentina/The Buenos Aires Concert (also available on 2-CDs) . The quintet consists of Ricky Ford (tenor saxophone), Jack Walrath (trumpet), Robert Neloms (piano) and Dennis Richmond (drums). Side A opens with the celebrated standard, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, an elegy to Lester Young. It’s a bluesy fuller arrangement that is reminiscent of his mentor Duke Ellington. There is a crisp trumpet solo followed by a delicate piano (with soulful accents and arpeggios). Mingus shines on a nimble double bass counterpoint. The tenor adds some brawny resonance and there are subtle tempo upticks. Fittingly, this is followed by “Duke Ellington’s Song Of Love”, which builds to a “sweeping flow” with a saxophone lead, then a piano run with unconventional phrasing. Mingus’ arrangement skills are evident on Side B with two different takes on blues music. He kicks off “Noddin’ Ya Head Blues’ with a note-bending solo and the quintet settles into a finger-snapping vibe. As the trumpet and saxophone join on the second verse, it feels like a New Orleans jam that keeps building intensity. On “Three Or Four Shades Of Blue” there is a bebop-fueled energy with saxophone and trumpet trading hot licks, amid an infusion of Middle Eastern motifs. It swings with unbridled passion.
The Ellington connection proceeds on “For Harry Carney”. Mingus kicks off with a vamp bass line that Walruth frames with counterpoint. Ford’s muscular tenor is furious with free jazz resonance and Richmond propels the group. The sinewy instrumentation is textured and polyrhythmic. Neloms’ athletic runs are compelling, with crashing chords and tempo changes. Walruth plays with deep feeling.”Cumbia & Jazz Fusion” displays Latin-inspired jazz in relentless bebop, with raucous, tone-stretching solos on trumpet and saxophone (with some harmony and punctuation). There are different “movements” that make this track memorable. The rhythm section is flawless and Mingus offers some beatnik-like poetic exhortation. A certain highlight are the two brief improvisational piano solos by Mingus that are lyrical and whimsical. On “Sue’s Changes (Incomplete)”, the band launches into a frenetic suite that never abates. The spotlight is on Ford as he improvises extensively, with free jazz tonal licks. Additionally, as the ensemble transitions to medium swing, Ford adds a thicker, bluesy sound. Mingus energizes the freewheeling parts and Walrath adds mellower shading with the mute. The band finale, “Fables Of Faubus” is delivered with exotic melodies, chanting and cool swing. Walrath cuts loose with hard bop resonance and Neloms matches the potency. Mingus adds a rollicking double bass solo.
This is a treat for jazz fans!. Even at this late point in his career, Mingus is at the top of his game as a band leader. Matthew Lutthans’ sound restoration captures the unique instrumental dexterity of these musicians. The LP pressing has no discernible surface noise, hisses or pops. There is an incisive booklet with related interviews, housed inside a fold-out gatefold with protective album sleeves. This album was produced with the cooperation of The Jazz Workshop and Charles Mingus Estate.
Highly recommended!
—Robbie Gerson
Charles Mingus – Mingus In Argentina/The Buenos Aires Concert
TrackList:
Side A: Introduction; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love
Side B: Noddin’ Ya Head Blues; Three Of Four Shades Of Blue; Koko/Cherokee
Side C: For Harry Carney
Side D: Cumbia & Jazz Fusion; Solo Piano Improvisation (performed by Charles Mingus)
Side E: Sue’s Changes (Incomplete); Koko/Cherokee/Band Intros
Side F: Fables Of Faubus;’ Solo Piano Improvisation (performed By Charles Mingus)
