Lost Jazz Pt. 1: Mingus @ UCLA: If @ 1st You Don't Succeed... Posted by independent j

The Arts of Tatum and Freddy Webster - Charles Mingus Once Upon A Time, There Was A Holding Corporation Called Old America - Charles Mingus both from the album Music Written For Monterey 1965 Not Heard...Played In Its Entirety At UCLA September 25, 1965 on Sue Mingus Music (2006). First of a few posts about some jazz recordings that are out on CD now (readily available) after being legendary and/or forgotten for years. First up is a live "workshop" recording from my favorite musician of all time, Charles Mingus. Working with a 6-piece horn section (multiple trumpets, alto, French horn, and even a tuba and flugelhorn (on occasion)) and the drummer Mingus called his "own heartbeat" Dannie Richmond, Mingus composes, directs, scolds, switches between piano and bass (bowed and fingered) as well as being his own hype-man. For those unfamiliar with Mingus's "workshop" type of concerts/recordings they were meant to give an audidence a chance to see what the creative and "behind the scenes" aspect of group development of songs can be like. For that reason songs are started and stopped due to errors, Mingus chastizes his sidemen and tries various ways to openly direct the band in new directions. While all the false beginnings and banter with the crowd can be distracting if you're just looking for tunes, it really opens up the adventurous audience who maybe can't afford the money or time to get out to concerts (and plus it is now preserved for those of us in the present and future via recording). The backstory on this album is pretty interesting also and I direct you here for the more full version of the story. Long story short, Mingus wrote these works to be performed "workshop" style at the 1965 Monterrey Jazz Festival only he was left with less than half-an-hour to perform when the schedule was set. Instead a week later the material was performed at UCLA and recorded in its entirety. Mingus then self-released the album as a double LP via his record club. Probably only a few hundred copies were pressed and eventually the master reels were destroyed...but now it is back as a double CD and considering the situation the sound quality is quite good, with good range and excellent balance for all the players. And the tracks up today? These aren't the usual highly rhythmic, big sound stuff I tend to post to Ear Fuzz most of the time. This is rather adventurous in rhythm, tone, and harmony, and just incredibly deep and moving stuff. Really I'm talking about the whole album here but in specific "The Arts of Tatum and Freddy Webster" is a fun and lively tribute to the legendary pianist and trumpeter. And the magnificently titled "Once Upon A Time, There Was A Holding Company Called Old America" gets this final version after a couple of false starts earlier in the show. "Once Upon A Time..." eventually became the more well-known and similarly well-titled "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive-Ass Slippers." "Once..." syncopates the backing rhythm way beyond the normal and let's the various horn solos jump all around approximately a rather drunken walk kind of feel. Back with another lost gem soon...