Charles Mcpherson

Although confined to a wheelchair and less than a year from his death, Charles Mingus supervised the recording sessions that resulted in this LP and its companion Me Myself An Eye. The music on this set utilizes a 27-piece band (including 11 saxophones and four guitars) on the 31-minute "Something Like a Bird" and a smaller 21-piece orchestra (only nine saxes and three guitars) for "Farewell Farwell." It seems that everyone wanted to play with (or at least for) Mingus during his last few years and such musicians as Lee Konitz, Charles McPherson, George Coleman, Mike Brecker, Ricky Ford, Pepper Adams, Randy Brecker, Jack Walrath, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Knepper, Larry Coryell and bassists Eddie Gomez and George Mraz help out on this spirited if overcrowded music.

Charles Mingus - In A Soulful Mood (1960) {Music Club-Candid MCI 50004 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 407 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 165 Mb
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© 1960, 1996 Music Club / Candid | MCI 50004
Jazz / Post Bop / Bass

Very nice set of Mingus' legendary Candid recordings – produced in 1960, after Mingus angrily departed Columbia records, and was finally given the freedom to work in the way that he wanted. The recordings are some of Mingus best – and they feature a righteous anger and sheer jazz power that's unmatched by few other recordings.

Charles Mingus - The Complete Town Hall Concert (1962) {Blue Note CDP 724382835325 rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 383 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 164 Mb
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© 1962, 1994 Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7243 8 28353 2 5
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

Charles Mingus's Town Hall Concert has long been considered a famous fiasco, and the original United Artists LP (which contained just 36 minutes of music and did not bother identifying the personnel) made matters worse. But this 1994 Blue Note CD does its best to clean up the mess. It contains over half an hour of previously unreleased music and programs the selections largely in the same order as the concert.

Mingus In Greenwich Village may not win him admirers or offer much insight about his music, but the documentary offers a powerful look into the soul of the legendary bassist. Then again, it may come as little shock to those familiar with his autobiography "Beneath The Underdog," where he plays loose with facts and seems to focus more on his torturous relationships with women than his music. The 58-minute black-and-white film, shot mostly by a University of New York student, centers on the evening wait in November of 1966, interspersed with a few performances and clips of events related to Mingus' comments.

Charles Mingus - Loosdrecht Jazz Festival, The Netherlands, 12th August 1972 (2021) {Fred Triangle TBCDP-CM001}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Digital Download -> 530 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 191 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2021 Triangle-Barato Crate Digger Productions | TBCDP-CM001
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Bass

The rearranged setlist was confirmed after some research in the Dutch newspaper Nieuwsblad van het Noorden from 14th of August 1972, which had a review of this festival, which mentions that the title "The Man Who Never Sleeps" ended the concert. This also makes sense after hearing Mingus announcements before this title. CoverArt photo from the concert.

Originally recorded in January 19, 1974, Mingus At Carnegie Hall was released as a 1LP that only featured 2 long tracks ("C Jam Blues" and "Perdido") from the concert; one track per LP side, and features Jon Faddis, Charles McPherson, John Handy, George Adams, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Hamiet Bluiett, Don Pullen, and Dannie Richmond. Yet the original concert in January of '74 included 2 hours of performances, but nearly 70+ minutes were left on the cutting room floor. With jazz music on the decline in the US in the 1970s, Atlantic Records was probably concerned about releasing a 3LP set at a higher price point that only the most ardent fans would purchase at the time.

This was recorded on October 31st 1970 in a single, sleepless night, the fleeting space of a session that took place almost undetected, and in a sort of urgent calm. The scene was a deserted Decca studio on the rue Beaujon, a stone's throw from the Champs-Elysees. From both a historical and a musical standpoint, this unexpected session it was anything but premeditated undeniably stands apart in the bassist's work; originally released as two records (Pithycanthropus Erectus and Blue Bird), and here reissued for the first time in its entire, intimate dramaturgy, the recordings constitute precious and moving testimony to one of the least-documented periods of his exceptional career.

This 2-CD set takes the 1974 album Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) and adds seventy minutes of previously unissued material recorded at the same concert.
Mingus led many great bands during his career, but those from the the late 1950s and early 1960s have tended to be perceived as representing his belle epoque, overshadowing some equally outstanding later aggregations. One of these is Mingus' mid 1970s quintet with trumpeter Jack Walrath, tenor saxophonist George Adams, pianist Don Pullen and drummer Dannie Richmond, who are featured on the 1975 portion of the Bremen set. The previous year, Mingus led a sextet including Adams, Pullen and Richmond, in which Jon Faddis was the trumpeter and Hamiet Bluiett played baritone saxophone…

First time on CD for the album the Many Faces of Art Farmer (1964) plus Mundell Lowe's arrangement of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (1958) featuring Art Farmer and Ben Webster. On the Many Faces Of…, Farmer surrounded himself with splendid musicians like alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, pianist Tommy Flanagan and bassist Ron Carter. As a bonus to this outstanding LP, we have added another equally rare album. Although this selection of tunes from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess was arranged by guitarist Mundell Lowe and originally released under his name, both Art Farmer and Ben Webster shine on it as featured soloists.