Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:32
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:22) 1. Better Git It in Your Soul
(5:44) 2. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
(5:02) 3. Boogie Stop Shuffle
(3:10) 4. Self-Portrait in Three Colors
(5:51) 5. Open Letter to Duke
(6:17) 6. Bird Calls
(8:13) 7. Fables of Faubus
(9:14) 8. Pussy Cat Dues
(6:17) 9. Jelly Roll
(6:30) 10. Pedal Point Blues
(4:39) 11. GG Train
(4:07) 12. Girl of My Dreams

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um.

The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions.

The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is inspired by Duke Ellington and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. By Steve Huey
https://www.allmusic.com/album/mingus-ah-um-mw0000188531

Personnel: Charles Mingus – bass, piano (with Parlan on track 10); John Handy – alto sax (1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), clarinet (8), tenor sax (2); Booker Ervin – tenor sax; Shafi Hadi – tenor sax (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), alto sax (1, 5, 6, 9, 12); Willie Dennis – trombone (3, 4, 5, 12); Jimmy Knepper – trombone (1, 7, 8, 9, 10); Horace Parlan – piano; Dannie Richmond – drums

Mingus Ah Um

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Dick Katz - In High Profile

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:35
Size: 88.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Swing
Year: 1984/2016
Art: Front

[4:08] 1. Laverne Walk
[4:43] 2. Crazy She Calls Me
[4:49] 3. A Few Bars For Basie
[4:26] 4. But Not For Me
[5:56] 5. Cousin Mar
[4:48] 6. Friday The 13th
[5:16] 7. Lament
[4:25] 8. No Matter What

Bass – Marc Johnson; Drums – Al Harewood; Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Frank Wess; Piano – Dick Katz; Trombone – Jimmy Knepper.

Through the years, pianist Dick Katz through played an important role behind the scenes on many recording dates, including notable sets by Helen Merrill and Lee Konitz. He has led relatively few sessions of his own, making this quintet outing with Frank Wess (mostly on flute but taking "A Few Bars for Basie" on tenor), trombonist Jimmy Knepper, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Al Harewood a special occasion. Actually, the horns sit out on four of the eight selections, which are more spontaneous trio features, while the full band tracks sport Katz's colorful arrangements. Highlights of the now out-of-print set include Oscar Pettiford's "Laverne Walk," "Crazy She Calls Me," John Coltrane's "Cousin Mary," and Thelonious Monk's "Friday the 13th." ~Scott Yanow

In High Profile mc
In High Profile zippy

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Charles Mingus - The Clown

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop 
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:52
Size: 93,9 MB
Art: Front

(12:03)  1. Haitian Fight Song
( 7:58)  2. Blue Cee
( 8:34)  3. Reincarnation Of A Lovebird
(12:15)  4. The Clown

The Clown was Charles Mingus' second masterpiece in a row, upping the already intense emotional commitment of Pithecanthropus Erectus and burning with righteous anger and frustration. With Pithecanthropus, Mingus displayed a gift for airtight, focused arrangements that nonetheless allowed his players great freedom to add to the established mood of each piece. The Clown refines and heightens that gift; instead of just writing heads that provide launch points for solos, Mingus tries to evoke something specific with every piece, and even his most impressionistic forays have a strong storytelling quality. In fact, The Clown's title cut makes that explicit with a story verbally improvised by Jean Shepherd (yes, the same Jean Shepherd responsible for A Christmas Story) from a predetermined narrative. There are obvious jazz parallels in the clown's descent into bitterness with every unresponsive, mean-spirited audience, but the track is even more interesting for the free improvisations led by trombonist Jimmy Knepper, as the group responds to Shepherd's story and paints an aural backdrop. It's evidence that Mingus' compositional palette was growing more determinedly modern, much like his increasing use of dissonance, sudden tempo changes, and multiple sections. The Clown introduced two of Mingus' finest compositions in the driving, determined "Haitian Fight Song" and the '40s-flavored "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," a peaceful but melancholy tribute to Charlie Parker; Mingus would return to both throughout his career. And, more than just composing and arranging, Mingus also begins to take more of the spotlight as a soloist; in particular, his unaccompanied sections on "Haitian Fight Song" make it one of his fieriest moments ever. Mingus may have matched the urgency of The Clown on later albums, but he never quite exceeded it. ~ Steve Huey http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-clown-mw0000199104

Personnel: Charles Mingus (bass); Jean Shepherd (spoken vocals); Shafi Hadi (alto & tenor saxophones); Jimmy Knepper (trombone); Wade Legge (piano); Dannie Richmond (drums).

The Clown

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Pepper Adams, Jimmy Knepper - The Pepper-Knepper Quintet

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:49
Size: 91.2 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1958/2010
Art: Front

[6:02] 1. Minor Castastrophe
[5:52] 2. All Too Soon
[6:22] 3. Beaubien
[4:48] 4. Adams In The Apple
[5:12] 5. Riverside Drive
[4:26] 6. I Didn't Know About You
[7:03] 7. Primrose Path

Although Leonard Feather, in the original liner notes that are reproduced for this reissue, says that it is an oversimplification to call the music on this 1958 session "hard bop," the performances are actually pretty definitive of the idiom. Baritonist Pepper Adams, freshly arrived in New York from Detroit, co-leads a quintet with the up-and-coming trombonist Jimmy Knepper that also includes such young notables as pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Elvin Jones. They perform an obscure Jon Hendricks song, a lyrical version of "All Too Soon," the straight-ahead bebop blues "Beaubien," a couple obscure originals, Duke Ellington's "I Didn't Know About You" (which has Kelly switching to a spooky-sounding organ) and Knepper's "Primrose Path." The blend between baritone and trombone is quite effective, the musicians all take consistently excellent solos and the music is state-of-the-art 1958 modern mainstream jazz; in other words, hard bop. ~Scott Yanow

The Pepper-Knepper Quintet

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