Live at Montreux 1975
| Live at Montreux 1975 | ||||
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| Live album by Charles Mingus | ||||
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| Label (s) | Eagle Rock Entertainment | |||
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2 CD |
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5 |
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Live at Montreux 1975 is a jazz album by Charles Mingus that was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 20, 1975 . After the performance was first released on DVD in 2004 , the recording was released in February 2018 as a double CD on Eagle Rock Entertainment .
background
In July 1975 Charles Mingus performed with his quintet at the Montreux Jazz Festival ; the bassist was on tour in Europe to present his two new LPs Changes One & Changes Two , which he recorded for Atlantic in December 1974 . They formed the repertoire for the tour and the Montreux performance. George Adams , Jack Walrath , Don Pullen and Dannie Richmond played with bassist Charles Mingus ; Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone) and Benny Bailey (trumpet) were guests on two titles .
Music of the album
The first three tracks on the album are from Changes One , first Devil Blues , a "rough, fire-breathing blues number with the growling vocals of Adams." This is followed by Remembering Rockefeller at Attica , which Mingus erroneously called "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA' was announced, possibly because both compositions have similar chord changes, Marc Myers speculates. According to Ken Dryden, however, it is the Mingus title Peggy's Blue Skylight . This is followed by Sue's Changes , a composition that the bassist had written for his then wife Sue Mingus . In the Montreux version, the interpretation of the piece took over 33 minutes, with a piano solo by Don Pullen, a trumpet solo by Jack Walrath, a bass solo by Mingus and a drum solo by Dannie Richmond. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat has a slow, moody pace; Benny Bailey and Gerry Mulligan were given the opportunity to make their guest contributions. In contrast to this is the adaptation of an Ellington classic, Take the “A” Train by Billy Strayhorn , with “Bailey's sharp, glowing trumpet against the gentle rumble of Mulligan's baritone saxophone to Don Pullen's piano”.
Track list
- Charles Mingus: Live at Montreux 1975 (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
- Devil blues
- Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA
- Sue's Changes
- Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
- Take The "A" Train (Strayhorn)
- All other compositions are by Charles Mingus.
reception
According to Ken Dryden, who rated the album with four (out of five) stars in Allmusic , Mingus would be at the height of his power in Montreux two years before Lou Gehrig Syndrome made it impossible for him to continue performing. With his band he offered a program that was both provocative and entertaining. Even if the Mingus quintet of that time did not come close to the sextet of 1964 , the music of this concert has survived well.
Jerry D'Souza wrote about the video in All About Jazz in 2005 : “What is going on is a concert that is immediately inspiring, entertaining and full of pure emotion.” With the start of the recording (the title “For Harry Carney” is missing from the CD version) with “Devil Blues”, in which George Adams' gets the opportunity to “roar the blues with his dry, scratchy, gray voice”. With this good start, the band play their way into a groove with intensity , in which they don't miss a single moment. "Sue's Changes" is finally extended (compared to the studio version); After “casting, processing, shaping”, the different moods would create “an enormous depth of virtuosity. The time is used here to form another masterpiece on the anvil of coherent improvisation. ”With the addition of Gerry Mulligan and Benny Bailey in the last two numbers, great music is created; Mulligan provides "a babbling stream of ideas" in exchange with Mingus. Benny Bailey's solos are fiery and give the music a sizzling beat.
George W. Harris wrote in Jazz Weekly in 2018 that the recording of Charles Mingus' last great band would be a great addition to any record collection. The group of Don Pullen, George Adams, Jack Walrath and Dannie Richmond would be the perfect mix of swing and freedom, and with guests Gerry Mulligan and Benny Bailey the evening was full of adventure. After the opening track "Devil Blues", with a George Adams who growls like street preachers, the following "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA" is a wonderfully textured piece with pastel tones and impressionisms. The highlight is the 33-minute version of “Sue's Changes”, in which the band created moods that range from sublime swing to an avalanche of chaos, with Pullen's piano playing between a shrill swing and a fall through an elevator shaft. With Mulligan and Bailey the band deliver a lovely version of " Goodbye Pork Pie Hat ".
Marc Myers praised the release and wrote, “The music sounds as good as if it was recorded in the studio. The sound quality is fantastic and the applause has been reduced to a minimum. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Jerry D'Souza: Charles Mingus: Live At Montreux 1975. All About Jazz, January 15, 2005, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e Marc Myers: Charles Mingus: Montreux '75. Jazzwax, February 27, 2018, accessed on February 27, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Ken Dryden: Charles Mingus: Live at Montreux 1975. Allmusic, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
- ↑ Information about the CD at Broadway World
- ↑ George W. Harris: OH YEAH! Charles Mingus: Live at Montreux 1975. Jazz Weekly, February 12, 2018, accessed February 28, 2018 .