Charles Mungus Presents Charles Mingus

Tonight at Noon is, essentially, a compilation album - although not in the usual sense. There are two distinct sessions that make up its contents: a 1957 date with Jimmy Knepper on trombone, drummer Dannie Richmond, saxophonist Shafi Hadi, and pianist Wade Legge, and a 1960 session with Booker Ervin, Roland Kirk on saxes, Knepper, bassist Doug Watkins, Mingus on piano, and Richmond. The feel of the two sets is different to be sure, but this is far from throwaway material; the tunes here are actually studio outtakes from the recordings for The Clown and Oh Yeah…

Originally recorded for Period Records in 1954, this fairly obscure early Charles Mingus session is a collaboration with composer John LaPorta, who is heard on clarinet and alto saxophone. It's a fascinating effort that shows Mingus' awareness of both modern European classical composition and cool jazz.
The set includes a mix of Mingus and LaPorta originals, plus freshly arranged standards like "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Stormy Weather." Also on hand are the great trumpeter Thad Jones and saxophonist/producer Teo Macero. The album features Mingus' debut on piano.

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…

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 Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history. Charles Mingus consciously designed the six-part ballet as his magnum opus, and – implied in his famous inclusion of liner notes by his psychologist – it's as much an examination of his own tortured psyche as it is a conceptual piece about love and struggle. It veers between so many emotions that it defies easy encapsulation; for that matter, it can be difficult just to assimilate in the first place. Yet the work soon reveals itself as a masterpiece of rich, multi-layered texture and swirling tonal colors, manipulated with a painter's attention to detail. There are a few stylistic reference points – Ellington, the contemporary avant-garde, several flamenco guitar breaks – but the totality is quite unlike what came before it. Mingus relies heavily on the timbral contrasts between expressively vocal-like muted brass, a rumbling mass of low voices (including tuba and baritone sax), and achingly lyrical upper woodwinds, highlighted by altoist Charlie Mariano.

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.

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.