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- Date Released: February 16, 1999
- Genre: Jazz
- Label: Columbia/Legacy
- Copyright: Originally Recorded 1959, Originally Released 1993 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
A rare behind-the-scenes look at the great bassist/composer, with one of the greatest bands he'd ever assembled
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We Say...
Let's get this straight in front: this isn't second-rate Mingus, it's second-choice Mingus. These leftovers from the 1959 sessions which produced Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty still show the great bassist/composer at the height of his powers with one of the greatest bands (or workshops, as he often called them) he'd ever assembled. Although you may not hear them, there are reasons for these tracks not making the cut. On "Better Get It In Your Soul," for instance, there's a bad cue, with saxophonist Shafi Hadi and trombonist Jimmy Knepper jumping the gun on their re-entry near the end. In other cases, either Mingus, producer Teo Macero, or one of the soloists felt things could be improved with another take. These tracks were all recorded live, too, so that they could be (and, given Macero's studio wizardry, were) tape-edited, but they couldn't be remixed. The version of "Diane" here has a wonderfully over-the-top Romantic-flavored Roland Hanna piano solo, but the horns are somewhat out of balance, which called for a re-do. All in all, it'd probably be best to acquaint yourself with the issued takes of all of these pieces on the original albums, but keep in mind that these rougher gems await you here, because once you discover Charles Mingus, you can never have enough.
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They Say...
Although Charles Mingus released a number of albums which count among the all-time greats of modern jazz, most lists of his best would include Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty, the utterly thrilling, innovative sessions from 1959. Alternate Takes provides just that from those dates -- alternate versions of six pieces, all of them noteworthy. Occasionally, one can hear why a certain take wasn't retained for the final album: On "Better Git It in Your Soul"," for example, the theme as stated by the front line comes back too quickly, trampling on a Dannie Richmond drum solo. But even that raggedness is none too off-putting in a Mingus-ian context where a certain amount of chaos is both expected and welcome. In fact, if the listener just forgets about the whole idea of alternate takes, he or she can simply wallow in one stupendous Mingus composition after another. Saxophonists John Handy and Booker Ervin are glorious in their rare combination of hyper intelligence and deep soul, and Jimmy Knepper is his normal, outstanding self. Some of the pieces, like "Song With Orange," feature sections later dropped in the released version, but the real joy is not found in discographical oddities but in the amazing music itself. This is Mingus at or near the height of his powers, working with two of his very finest bands (tracks one through three are performed by a sextet, tracks four through six by a tentet). No self-respecting fan can possibly be without it. The booklet contains a fine essay by Mingus biographer Brian Priestley.
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06 Total Tracks, 38:34 Total Length
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Credits
- Teddy Charles - Vibraphone // Teddy Charles - Vibraphone // Booker Ervin - Sax (Tenor) // Booker Ervin - Sax (Tenor) // John Handy - Sax (Alto) // John Handy - Sax (Alto) // Jimmy Knepper - Trombone // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Bass // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Charles Mingus - Main Performer // Horace Parlan - Piano // Horace Parlan - Piano // Jerome Richardson - Sax (Baritone) // Jerome Richardson - Sax (Baritone) // Dannie Richmond - Drums // John "Captain John" Handy - Sax (Alto) // Shafi Hadi - Sax (Alto) // Shafi Hadi - Sax (Tenor) // Michael Cuscuna - Reissue Producer // Benny Golson - Sax (Tenor) // Benny Golson - Sax (Tenor) // Benny Golson - Sax (Tenor) // Benny Golson - Sax (Tenor) // Sir Roland Hanna - Piano // Sir Roland Hanna - Piano // Teo Macero - Producer // Ray Moore - Engineer // Fred Plaut - Engineer // Mark Wilder - Recorder // Brian Priestley - Liner Notes // Don Hunstein - Photography // Howard Fritzson - Art Direction // Randall Martin - Reissue Design // Rob Schwarz - Recorder // Richard Gene Williams - Trumpet
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Other Details
- Instruments:
- Piano //
- Trombone //
- Trumpet //
- Drums //
- Sax (Alto) //
- Sax (Baritone) //
- Sax (Tenor)
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