Charles Mingus Archives - Page 2

In about nine hours, the fate of the “Mingus on Mingus” documentary project will be decided. At least this important phase of it. You’ve no doubt seen our promotions for this project. We have no affiliation with it, we just want to see it made a reality. Kevin Ellington Mingus, the grandson of Charles Mingus, is behind the project. In...

Charles Mingus’ grandson Kevin Ellington Mingus has set out to make a film exploring his grandfather’s life. Mingus on Mingus will be a full-length documentary including interviews with the musicians from bassist/composer’s band and his family and friends, to get a deeper understanding of the jazz icon. Mingus, who passed away in 1979, had a reputation of being unpredictable and...

Today marks the 89th year since Charles Mingus was born. The outspoken bassist/composer left a wealth of music in his wake, which is preserved through the work of the Charles Mingus Institute. Among the groups dedicated to keeping his music alive is the Mingus Orchestra, a 10-piece group held down by bassist Boris Kozlov. In addition to his role as...

Jazz bassist Boris Kozlov has released a new solo bass CD, Double Standard, featuring a mix of originals and jazz standards. The entire album is made of single-take, solo bass tracks with the exception of “RGB/Self Portrait in 3 Colors,” which has the bassist layering arco tracks on the Charles Mingus ballad. That track is especially poignant since the entire...

Candid Records is celebrating their 50th anniversary and offering some new and updated releases as part of the celebration. One of those albums is Charles Mingus And The Newport Rebels, recorded in studio on November 11, 1960. But the real story is how this recording came to be. From the liner notes: “The (now) famous Newport Jazz Festival was inaugurated...

The Mingus Big Band will be celebrating the release of their new album, Live at Jazz Standard with a CD release concert. The concert will also take place at Jazz Standard in New York City, on April 19th. The CD is released only three days before Charles Mingus’ 88th birthday, and was recorded on New Year’s Eve 2008/2009, which marked...

I am doing a Mingus project in May with the WDR Big Band, so I have been checking out Mingus’s music recently. He has left such a legacy on several levels: his bass playing, his rhythm section playing, his band leading and his composing. All of those aspects of Mingus’s music are interconnected, and he really made strong contributions in...

One year after the passing of Charles Mingus, the Mingus Dynasty band took the stage at Montreux. This performance of “Better Get It In Your Soul” features too bassists, starting with Mike Richmond and his opening solo, and also featuring bassist Aladár Pege. The rest of the band includes Randy Brecker on trumpet, Joe Farrell on saxophone, Jimmy Knepper on...

I’ve been on a Charles Mingus kick lately, watching a ton of great videos like this one. This performance of “Flowers for a Lady” was filmed on July 28, 1974 at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Todi, Italy. Mingus is joined by Dannie Richmond on drums, Don Pullen on piano, George Adams on tenor sax and Hamiet Bluiett on baritone...

This video shows bassist Eddie Gomez playing with Bill Evans and Alex Riel. Gomez played with the Bill Evans trio from 1966 to 1977. After the Bill Evans trio Gomez continued to work in a countless number of settings including filling in for Charles Mingus, playing with the fusion band Steps Ahead and working with Benny Wallace, Joanne Brackeen, Jack...

In case you missed it, here are some of the most popular features from last week (August 23rd through 28th). Features & Columns Lesson: Melodic Construction Jon Burr introduced a new lesson series, on melodic construction in improvisation. Player Spotlight: Adam Tanner Our player spotlight showcased the work of Adam Tanner (aka ZenBeer), a solo bassist from Ottawa, Ontario. Ask...

Here’s Charles Mingus, playing one of his greatest tunes, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”. This performance took place live at Montreux 1975, with Don Pullen on piano, George Adams on tenor sax, Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Benny Bailey on trumpet, and Danny Richmond on drums.