Jazz Portraits - Mingus In Wonderland
| Jazz Portraits - Mingus In Wonderland | ||||
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| Live album by Charles Mingus | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | United Artists / Blue Note Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
4th |
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running time |
44:13 |
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Jazz Portraits - Mingus In Wonderland is a jazz album by Charles Mingus . It contains recordings of a concert on January 16, 1959 at the Nonagon Art Gallery in New York: It was first published by United Artists Records .
Edition history
The record was first released under the title Jazz Portraits (UAL 4036 Mono, UAS 5063 Stereo), then as new releases also by United Artists as Wonderland in 1962 (UAJ 14005) and 1972 (UAS 5637). In 1994 Blue Note Records released the album under the name Jazz Portraits - Mingus In Wonderland on record and on CD.
The plate
The concert in the Nonagon Art Gallery took place as part of the “Jazz Portraits” series of events, which had only recently been founded in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art . The record was produced for United Artists by Mingus' longtime sponsor Nat Hentoff . The pieces Take the “A” Train , Jelly Roll Jellies, Billie's Bounce and Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting also played at the concert have not yet been released.
At the concert in January 1959 Charles Mingus presented his new quintet with tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin and alto saxophonist John Handy after more than a year without independent recordings . The band's regular pianist, Horace Parlan , was out of town that night because of an emergency. The pianist Richard Wyands , who had often worked on Mingus projects, stepped in for him. The record, which was recorded shortly before the album Blues & Roots , contains four longer pieces.
The music
Mingus wrote Nostalgia In Times Square , which begins the concert recording, as part of the soundtrack for Shadows , director John Cassavetes' first film . The composer understood the piece as a sketch of the nightlife in New York's Times Square .
Commenting on Vernon Duke's composition I Can't Get Started , Mingus said: “I like the song and can always play it because it belongs to me. I always play it differently and this time I think it's the best I can make of it "
In No Private Income Blues there are virtuoso improvisations by the two saxophonists Booker Ervin and John Handy.
Alice's Wonderland (subtitled Diane ) is also from the Shadows film music project but was not used for the film's soundtrack. Mingus wrote it for a love scene in the film; he thinks it is “the nicest thing I've ever written”. It is the portrait of a young girl who wants to find happiness in the big, rough world.
The pieces
- Nostalgia in Times Square - (12:18)
- I Can't Get Started (Duke / Gershwin) - (10:08)
- No Private Income Blues - (12:51)
- Alice's Wonderland - (8:54)
All pieces except [2] were composed by Charles Mingus.
literature
- Horst Weber , Gerd Filtgen: Charles Mingus. His life, his music, his records. Oreos, Gauting-Buchendorf, undated, ISBN 3-923657-05-6
Remarks
- ↑ Among the jazz musicians who still appeared in the event series “Jazz Portraits” were the Modern Jazz Quartet , Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk .
- ↑ Mingus had worked on the soundtrack for John Cassavetes ' film Shadows and a literature and poetry project with the poet Langston Hughes in 1958 , but was also touring with Billie Holiday and Mal Waldron .
- ↑ A description of the concert can be found in the book The Sound of Surprise: 46 Pieces on Jazz by jazz author Whitney Balliett , which contains reviews from 1954-59: Mingus Among the Unicorns , p. 201.
- ↑ The text of the song, which Mingus always interpreted instrumentally, came from Ira Gershwin .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Publication by the Museum of Modern Art on January 10, 1961
- ↑ a b Nat Hentoff - Liner Notes for Jazz Portraits