Mingus Workshops 1964-65

[J.A.W.]

Existing thread: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?/topic/70158-charles-mingus/

Why don't you check the discography on the Mosaic site and you will see that the Minneapolis date is included: http://www.mosaicrecords.com/discography.asp?number=253-MD-CD&price=$119.00&copies=7CDs (scroll down)

Edited January 21, 2014 by J.A.W.

[Gheorghe]

Thank you , Hans, for the discography link. I didn´t know about it, only saw a vaque description of what it is about.

Didn´t know about the other thread. Right now, I tried to check it out, but I´m glad I didn´t post my question on the older thread, cause it´s too much runnin out of topic....sure, with interesting opinions about Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, no question, I dig them , but I don´t find so much it would have in common with Mingus, with one exception:

Mingus is the one who kinda opened my ears for the more far out stuff, so I got to Ornette and the whole New Thing through Mingus, when I started to listen to jazz when I was still almost a kid.....

[bertrand]

The set also includes the aborted Monterey gig with the material that was later played at UCLA. Thisis worth the price of admission by itself.

Bertrand.

[Gheorghe]

yes, I see it´s just a must have for me being the Mingus fan I am. Also the unissued tracks from the early april 64 Town Hall concert just before they went on tour.....

[kh1958]

Yes, the set includes "My Favorite Quintet," plus additional unreleased material from the same concert--a 40 minute LP expanded to 90 minutes.

[Gheorghe]

Thank you. I ordered it yesterday.

Though I already have a lot of the material from that box (all that was on separate CDs ) , I think it´s worth buying. The "Favourite Quintet" always has been mistery to me.

As I remember, it must have been on the French "America" Label, which I called "the Mingus label" because most of Mingus´ recordings where on that label (The Great Concert, Right Now, Mingus at Monterey, and "My Favourite Quintet" from the Mid-60´s, and some stuff from the 50´s also (the 2 live at Cafe Bohemia LPs) and even the 70´s (also from Paris , Blue Bird and Piticantropus Erectus).

We youngsters in Europe called the America Label "the Mingus Label" because without that label it would have been hard to get acquainted with all that great music.

During that time I had all those "America" records besides "My Favourite Quintet". I don´t remember why, maybe it was OOP, or I was short of money, something natural for a youngster in the 1970´s .....

[sidewinder]

Yes, my copy of 'My Favourite Quintet' on vinyl is on the French America label. Original release on Charles Mingus Records is mega-rare I think.

[BFrank]

Just ordered this with the 10% "Father's Day Promotion".

Can't wait!

[BFrank]

It arrived today. Listened to the first disk - sounds better than expected!

The Sue Mingus essay at the end of the booklet was pretty interesting, too.

[Guy Berger]

After several years collecting dust, I’m finally starting to make my way through the box.  Have listened to the first 5 discs so far.

The Monterey 1964 disc was what I’ve been looking forward to the most - “Meditations” is my favorite Mingus composition and, aside from Eric Dolphy, John Handy is my favorite Mingus saxophonist, so I love hearing him on this material.

The additional Town Hall material is very welcome as well, and the Amsterdam gig is great - I think the sextet was better with Coles.

I’m curious about the 1965 band, never having listened to it before.  Coming in with relatively low expectations.

[Guy Berger]

Finally listened to the 1965 band.  I may change my mind over time but I’d put this firmly into the 2nd or 3rd tier Mingus - music that I enjoy but not something I expect to return to a lot.

On 12/11/2012 at 2:11 PM, JSngry said:

Sure. It's not that Mingus was "disinterested" in Ornette or anything like that, probably more that he likely heard the genius but still harbored "reservations" as well.

I recall reading at least one set of liner notes (Mingus Dynasty?) in which Mingus also expresses this ambivalence.  He also criticizes Charlie Parker’s imitators in the same liner notes.

I suspect Mingus had a lot of mixed feelings about Ornette.  Mingus had been playing proto free jazz in the mid 1950s before Ornette came on the scene.  Ornette was also a big influence on Mingus’s post-1960 music.  Some of his comments might have been sincere, some were probably just competitive jealousy.  (Also interesting to compare Mingus’s reaction to Miles Davis’s.)