Charles Mingus Quintet The Charles Mingus Memorial Album

When producer Rocco Pandiani approached Maestro Attilio Zanchi about collaborating on an album for Mono Jazz label, he discovered Zanchi's longstanding passion project: a tribute to jazz legend Charles Mingus, which he had nurtured for two decades with a close-knit group of musicians. Initially, Pandiani had a different project in mind, so to convince him, Zanchi swiftly organized a concert in Milan featuring the full septet. The electrifying performance ended with the audience ecstatically cheering and dancing. Impressed, Rocco agreed to proceed with the record production, which took place three months later at Novenove studio in Milan.

This CD, a straight reissue of Wonderland, finds bassist/leader Charles Mingus really pushing altoist John Handy and tenor-saxophonist Booker Ervin on four lengthy selections, highlighted by "Nostalgia in Times Square" and "No Private Income Blues." The music is advanced bop that looks toward the upcoming innovations of the avant-garde and is frequently quite exciting.

This album is unique in Mingus' enormous catalog. As the title indicates, the famous bassist takes to the ivories solo to give life to his dazzling improvisational art. At first it seems odd to hear Mingus without one of his trademark interactive and exploratory ensembles. But the sensibility that he brings to this collection of piano pieces bears all the signs of the composer's genius…

The Clown was Charles Mingus' second masterpiece in a row, upping the already intense emotional commitment of Pithecanthropus Erectus and burning with righteous anger and frustration. With Pithecanthropus, Mingus displayed a gift for airtight, focused arrangements that nonetheless allowed his players great freedom to add to the established mood of each piece. The Clown refines and heightens that gift; instead of just writing heads that provide launch points for solos, Mingus tries to evoke something specific with every piece, and even his most impressionistic forays have a strong storytelling quality. In fact, The Clown's title cut makes that explicit with a story verbally improvised by Jean Shepherd (yes, the same Jean Shepherd responsible for A Christmas Story) from a predetermined narrative…

At the finale of the "Musikfest Berlin" 2022, the musicians of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and their BigBand performed “Epitaph” as a tribute to the 100th birthday of Charles Mingus.
Under the energetic baton of Titus Engel, the musicians of the BigBand and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Jazzinstitut Berlin explore the realms of expression of dark threat, profound songfulness, conflict and ecstasy with irrepressible joy of playing and remarkable clarity. Star trumpeter Randy Brecker lets his wonderfully clear tone soar to the highest heights. It becomes touching when Jorge Puerta sings "Freedom" with a powerful voice and the musicians hum along…

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond…

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond…

Bassist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Charles Mingus cut himself a uniquely iconoclastic path through jazz in the middle of the 20th century, creating a musical and cultural legacy that became universally lauded. As an instrumentalist he had few peers - he was blessed with a powerful tone and pulsating sense of rhythm, capable of elevating the instrument into the frontline of a band. Intensely ambitious yet often earthy in expression, simultaneously politically radical and deeply traditional spiritually, Mingus' music took elements from everything he had experienced - from gospel and blues, New Orleans jazz, swing, bop, Latin music, modern classical music, and even the jazz avant-garde, and adapted it for ensembles ranging from trios and quartets to sextets and orchestras…