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Charles Mingus: Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition)

By Chris May
June 29, 2021
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Charles Mingus: Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition)

This 2-CD set takes the 1974 album Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) and adds seventy minutes of previously unissued material recorded at the same concert. It is as worthwhile an addition to

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus' recorded legacy as 2020's previously unissued 2-CD set Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 (Sunnyside). Why it has taken so long for either set to be released is anybody's guess. But at least we have them now.

Mingus led many great bands during his career, but those from the the late 1950s and early 1960s have tended to be perceived as representing his belle epoque, overshadowing some equally outstanding later aggregations. One of these is Mingus' mid 1970s quintet with trumpeter

Jack Walrath

trumpet
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack Walrath, tenor saxophonist

George Adams

saxophone, tenor
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">George Adams, pianist

Don Pullen

piano
1941 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Pullen and drummer

Dannie Richmond

drums
1935 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Dannie Richmond, who are featured on the 1975 portion of the Bremen set. The previous year, Mingus led a sextet including Adams, Pullen and Richmond, in which

Jon Faddis

trumpet
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Faddis was the trumpeter and

Hamiet Bluiett

saxophone, baritone
1940 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Hamiet Bluiett played baritone saxophone. This is the core group heard on Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition), augmented on the two tracks which made up the 1974 release ("Perdido" and "C Jam Blues") by three guest artists and Mingus alumni, tenor saxophonist

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

woodwinds
1935 - 1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Rahsaan Roland Kirk and alto saxophonists

John Handy

saxophone
b.1933

" data-original-title="" title="">John Handy and

Charles McPherson

saxophone, alto
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles McPherson.

CD1 starts with a brief introduction by concert promoter Art Weiner. This is followed by vibrant versions of three Mingus favourites, "Peggy's Blue Skylight" (first recorded by him in 1961), "Celia" (ditto 1957) and "Fables Of Faubus" (ditto 1959). CD2 opens with a new piece, Pullen's joyous "Big Alice." The previously released second half of the concert, "Perdido" and "C Jam Blues," follows.

Mingus and Richmond aside, the magic thread running through Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition) is the symbiotic inside/outside relationship of Adams and Pullen (which was soon to be formalized in their own, co-led band). That is not to suggest that Faddis or Bluiett fall short. Indeed, Faddis pretty much makes "Celia" his own. The saxophone quintet heard on we already know from the 1974 release to be something special. All this and great sound, too. Verily, our cup runneth over.

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Track Listing

CD1: Introduction; Peggy��s Blue Skylight; Celia; Fables Of Faubus. CD2: Big Alice; Perdido; C Jam Blues.

Personnel

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic

George Adams

saxophone, tenor

Hamiet Bluiett

saxophone, baritone

Jon Faddis

trumpet

Don Pullen

piano

Dannie Richmond

drums

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

woodwinds

John Handy

saxophone

Charles McPherson

saxophone, alto

Additional Instrumentation

John Handy: alto saxophone (2.2, 2.3); Charles McPherson: alto saxophone (2.2, 2.3); Rahsaan Roland Kirk: tenor saxophone, stritch (2.2, 2.3).

Album information

Title: Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition) | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Atlantic Records

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