Epitaph (mingus)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Epitaph is a jazz album by Charles Mingus that was recorded posthumously in 1989 and released on CD in 1990.

The CD Epitaph is the inclusion of a big orchestral suite , which notes in the estate of the late jazz - bassist , composer and bandleader Charles Mingus (* 1922, † 1979) by Andrew Homzy found by Gunther Schuller reconstructed and Homzy and premiered on June 3rd, 1989 has been. In 1990 studio recordings with the same ensemble were released as a double CD on the Columbia Records label (CBS 466631-2).

The history

The first performance of parts of the suite Epitaph , his large-scale grave inscription , which he composed himself during his lifetime, was for Charles Mingus to the great fiasco: The planned performance at the New York Town Hall was planned by him as an open recording session with sample character. Ticket sales went well accordingly. It was foreseeable that this would cause trouble. But the room had been booked by his record company, United Artists , as if for a regular concert. Even the preparations failed: The time had to be moved forward, which resulted in enormous time pressure. Mingus employed Melba Liston , Bob Hammer and Gene Roland with the orchestration. Before the performance began, the musicians copied the sheet music. And Mingus was so upset about the ticket sales that he advised the audience to go to the box office and get the entrance fee back before the rehearsal concert began . Part of the audience did so when they heard that instead of a concert they were only offered rehearsals. And the stagehands let the curtain down during the performance in order to get home in time.

Mingus' ambitions were drowned in great chaos at the time; only part of the suite was performed, only part of which was initially selected by producers George Wein and Alan Douglas and released on LP by the record company United Artists . It was not until 1994 that all of the recorded pieces were released on CD, whereby it becomes clear that the recordings have more substance than the record with its less than happy selection would suggest.

The reconstruction

Charles Mingus' estate contained parts of the manuscript full of contradicting instructions. The conductor , composer and third-stream theorist Gunther Schuller began the laborious restoration and addition of the recordings. He also asked the participating musicians, some of whom had already played with the bandleader in 1962, such as Clark Terry and Ernie Royal, who had been instructed in the score to think of home while blowing ("How's the family, Ernie ? ").

The performance

The broadcaster BBC 4 was available for a production of the large orchestra suite - in 1989 the magnum opus by Charles Mingus was finally performed: Schuller was able to come up with a 30-man band (22 wind instruments alone). A suite was played in 19 segments, for over two hours, which reveals all facets of the bassist's musical cosmos - triumphant solos (like that of John Handy ) emerging from well-organized chaos; his blues feeling (in Peggy's Blue Skylight with John Abercrombie as soloist), his connection with and creative borrowings from Duke Ellington (in Freedom quotes Mingus Happy-Go-Lucky Local , in Ballad the trumpeters Randy Brecker and Wynton Marsalis play in the " plunger "sound like Clark Terry ). Mingus shows his understanding of connecting jazz tradition and jazz modernity when changing standards ( Started Melody by I Can't Get Started ) and recourse to jazz musicians like Thelonious Monk ( Monk, Bunk & viceversa ). At the same time, the score provides space for the typical collective improvisations and explosive solos that trumpeter Jack Walrath and tenor saxophonist George Adams play here.

At the same time, Mingus' references to modern classical music become clear: Moods In Mambo is unusually instrumented chamber music; The Children Hour Of Dreams points to composers like Maurice Ravel and Béla Bartók , as Gunther Schuller explains. In Self Portrait / Chill Of Death , around a hundred short solos come together in an eleven-minute segment. Despite the overlapping solos and the quick changes, the piece is a closed, not overloaded, never hectic, dense nucleus of the whole suite.

Towards the end, Schuller succeeds in fading in the nasal singing voice of the dead Charles Mingus live in Freedom : in the middle of the orchestra she recites the Knittel verse of "the mule that should endure" until it is freed.

Title list

CD 1

  1. Main Score, Pt. 1 (7:08) Soloists: Handy, Schuller, Handy, Watson, Lewis - Wilder, Lewis, Woodman
  2. Percussion Discussion (8:37) Soloists: Victor Lewis, Reggie Johnson
  3. Main Score, Pt. 2 (5:07) soloists: John Handy
  4. Started Melody (11:53) Soloists: Watson, Johnson, Smulyan, Rosenberg, Hicks, Berger, Soloff
  5. Better Get Hit in Yo 'Soul (9:08) Soloists: Walrath, Handy, Woodman, Adams, Hicks, Lewis
  6. The Soul (3:19) Soloists: Karl Berger
  7. Moods in Mambo (4:16) no solos
  8. Self Portrait / Chill of Death (11:27) Main soloists: Abercrombie, Beger, Schuller, Hanna, Handy (clarinet)
  9. OP (Oscar Pettiford) (2:03) No solos
  10. Please Don't Come Back from the Moon (9:50) Soloists: Adams, Hanna, Hicks, Brecker, Berger

CD 2

  1. Monk, Bunk & Vice Versa (3:04) Soloists: Jerome Richardson, Wynton Marsalis
  2. Peggy's Blue Skylight (4:35) Soloists: John Abercrombie
  3. Wolverine Blues (6:13) Soloists: Hanna, Brecker, Rabinowitz, Hicks
  4. The Children's Hour of Dream (9; 09) No solos
  5. Ballad (In Other Words, I Am Three) (9:43) Soloists: Brecker, Watson, Marsalis
  6. Freedom (7:03) Soloists: Hicks, Rosenberg
  7. Interlude (The Underdog Rising) (5:26) Soloists: Britt Woodman
  8. Noon Night (4:27) Soloists: George Adams
  9. Main Score Reprise (3:55) Soloists: Handy, Walrath, at the end all musicians

With the exception of (I: 2), (I: 5) and (I: 7), all pieces were played by the full ensemble.

occupation

conductor

Woodwinds

  • George Adams (tenor saxophone) (also I: 5)
  • Phil Bodner (oboe, cor anglais , clarinet, tenor saxophone) (also I: 2)
  • John Handy (clarinet, alto saxophone) (also I: 5)
  • Dale Kleps (flute, double bass clarinet) (also I: 7)
  • Michael Rabinowitz (bassoon, bass clarinet) (also I: 7)
  • Jerome Richardson (clarinet, alto saxophone)
  • Roger Rosenberg (piccolo, flute, clarinet, baritone saxophone) (also I: 2, I: 7)
  • Gary Smulyan (clarinet, baritone saxophone)
  • Bobby Watson (clarinet, flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone) (also I: 2, I: 7)

Trumpets

Trombones / tubas

Rhythm section

Sources and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Horst Weber / Gerd Filtgen, Charles Mingus: His life, his music, his records. OREOS publishing house. ISBN 3-923657-05-6 , p. 134.
  2. ^ Information based on Charles Mingus, The Complete Town Hall Concert. Blue note
  3. ↑ Horst Weber / Gerd Filtgen, Charles Mingus: His life, his music, his records, p. 134.