B. Goren. Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Charlie Mingus was one of my first discoveries when I've started to listen to jazz music many years ago, and since my first exposure to his music I remained faithful to him. If I take a look at his career, I think in the late 50's and early 60's he was at the peak of his career. Nothing he recorded in his later period of time can be compared to his achievements during these 5-7 years. His recordings for Atlantic and Columbia are my favorites. But we can't ignore also two other great sessions: Tijuana Moods and East Coasting. Mingus himself said that Tijuana Moods is his best recording ever. In the same year of Tijuana Moods, Mingus recorded another great session, lesser known: East Coasting. It featured most of the same musicians as on Tijuana Moods: trombonist Jimmy Knepper, saxophonist Shafi Hadi, trumpeter Clarence Shaw, and drummer Dannie Richmond. At the piano was sitting this time Bill Evans instead of Bill Triglia. Playing with Mingus was Evans’ last stop before joining Miles Davis for the classic Kind of Blue. His ability to fit into Mingus’ compositions and the various moods they create here displays another side of Evans' musical personality and shows how gifted he was. I think Mingus always knew how to utilize the gifts of musicians and how to deal with all kind of influences including the music of Duke Ellington, gospel, blues, traditional jazz of New Orleans and even the music of JS Bach. Mingus has a unique ability to make a sextet sound like a complete big band and this album demonstrate this ability almost in each of the tunes the sextet plays. If I have to pick one specific highlight of this album in addition to Evans' playing, I would probably say that it is the amazing solo Knepper plays on "Memories of You" but all the sextet members are doing a perfect job. Also "West Coast Ghost" is a beautiful composition with an impressive trumpet playing (sounds a bit muted) by Clarence Shaw. Mingus' compositions and playing are always fueled by his emotions and for this reason it is always a great pleasure for me to listen to him. In my humble opinion this is one of Mingus' best recordings, not less than Tijuana Moods. It was neglected over the years just because it surfaced in the shadow of Tijuana. I think it took too long for Bethlehem to reissue it on CD but eventually they did. If you consider yourselves as Mingus fans, and I'm sure you do, you must have this album in your collection. And if you have it already, please give it a listen and let me know your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Thanks for reminding me of this great recording. Spinning it right now - I love it when an album starts with a ballad, and treating "Memories of you" this way is a grand idea. The band sounds very relaxed here, much more than on other albums,is my first impression. Great choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 I love this album. I'm not sure if it was my introduction to Mingus back in the 50s but it could well have been. It was certainly my introduction to Bill Evans, Danny Richmond and the rest. What a band, everything seems right, arrangements , soloists and not a dull moment. A treasure. No wonder my youthful ears got entranced by Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swinger Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Excellent choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 If I take a look at his career, I think in the late 50's and early 60's he was at the peak of his career. Nothing he recorded in his later period of time can be compared to his achievements during these 5-7 years. This statement is not correct. The group with George Adams and Don Pullen is as good as any Mingus group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Sorry KH I'm with Bentsy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted February 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 If I take a look at his career, I think in the late 50's and early 60's he was at the peak of his career. Nothing he recorded in his later period of time can be compared to his achievements during these 5-7 years. This statement is not correct. The group with George Adams and Don Pullen is as good as any Mingus group. This is a question of taste. I can easily agree with you that the group with Pullen and Adams was the best group Mingus led between 1964 and his untimely death in 1979, but IMHO his recordings for Atlantic for example or Candid are much better than his recordings with Pullen & Adams. There is only one exception: Mingus recorded Let My Children Hear Music in 1971 and this album is in the same league as his early recordings. This is a good idea for the next AOTW…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolivarblues Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Great pick! This one doesn't seem to get the praise of say, Black Saint or Ah Um, but it's one of his finest records, IMO. The sound is totally unlike anything else in his catalog; this is perhaps due to Bill Evans' influence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 If I take a look at his career, I think in the late 50's and early 60's he was at the peak of his career. Nothing he recorded in his later period of time can be compared to his achievements during these 5-7 years. This statement is not correct. The group with George Adams and Don Pullen is as good as any Mingus group. This is a question of taste. I can easily agree with you that the group with Pullen and Adams was the best group Mingus led between 1964 and his untimely death in 1979, but IMHO his recordings for Atlantic for example or Candid are much better than his recordings with Pullen & Adams. There is only one exception: Mingus recorded Let My Children Hear Music in 1971 and this album is in the same league as his early recordings. This is a good idea for the next AOTW…. I quite disagree with your diminution of his 70s work, but that's not the subject of this thread. East Coasting is a classic, I agree. Amazingly, Mingus recorded multiple classics in 1957--with the Clown, half of Tonight at Noon, Tijuana Moods, A Modern Jazz Symposium of Poetry and Music, and Revelations all done that year. (Also, the trio with Hampton Hawes, maybe not a classic but a good one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolivarblues Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 (edited) Also "West Coast Ghost" is a beautiful composition with an impressive trumpet playing (sounds a bit muted) by Clarence Shaw. Funny you should mention the muted trumpet; the liner notes for this CD mention Shaw's reluctance to buy a Harmon mute (at Mingus' request), fearing that it would make him sound like Miles Davis. But Shaw plays quite nicely on this record, as well as on Tijuana Moods. Mingus' liner notes for both records speak highly of his playing; he also said that if Tijuana Moods would have been released in 1957 (instead of 1962), that it would have made a "star" out of Shaw. Mingus also said this about Shaw in the liner notes for East Coasting: "He has more than just originality; he has that good originality in that he's not original just to be original." He certainly has a very personal voice throughout this recording. Does anyone know why he didn't leave a bigger mark than he did? Early death, perhaps? Also of note is the fact that Danny Richmond had only one year prior to recording East Coasting abandoned his role as an R&B tenor saxophonist, in favor of his more familiar role as jazz drummer. Edited February 17, 2007 by Frankie Machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Also "West Coast Ghost" is a beautiful composition with an impressive trumpet playing (sounds a bit muted) by Clarence Shaw. Funny you should mention the muted trumpet; the liner notes for this CD mention Shaw's reluctance to buy a Harmon mute (at Mingus' request), fearing that it would make him sound like Miles Davis. But Shaw plays quite nicely on this record, as well as on Tijuana Moods. Mingus' liner notes for both records speak highly of his playing; he also said that if Tijuana Moods would have been released in 1957 (instead of 1962), that it would have made a "star" out of Shaw. Mingus also said this about Shaw in the liner notes for East Coasting: "He has more than just originality; he has that good originality in that he's not original just to be original." He certainly has a very personal voice throughout this recording. Does anyone know why he didn't leave a bigger mark than he did? Early death, perhaps? Also of note is the fact that Danny Richmond had only one year prior to recording East Coasting abandoned his role as an R&B tenor saxophonist, in favor of his more familiar role as jazz drummer. As Gene Shaw, he made three LPs for Argo in Chicago in the early to mid-1960s. I recommend tracking them down. He's on another session included in the Mingus Debut box. Along with the three 1957 Mingus dates, that's apparently all he recorded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 There is only one exception: Mingus recorded Let My Children Hear Music in 1971 and this album is in the same league as his early recordings. This is a good idea for the next AOTW…. Click here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 nice write up bentsy! i discovered this album not to long ago from a referral on this board. excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 There is only one exception: Mingus recorded Let My Children Hear Music in 1971 and this album is in the same league as his early recordings. This is a good idea for the next AOTW…. Click here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six string Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I didn't know this album existed until I bought the Rhino release around 2000 or 2001. I was really surprised to see Bill Evan's name on the album. As someone else mentioned, Bill Evans did have quite an influence on the outcome of this record. It's one of my favorite Mingus albums now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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