Search - Charles Mingus Sextet, Eric Dolphy :: Cornell 1964

Unmissable.

Jazzy V. | 11/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a brilliant, magnificent, previously unreleased and recently discovered recording of Charles Mingus's greatest band - or at least one of them - playing live at Cornell University, shortly before the European tour, in March 1964.

The music is scorchingly good, endlessly inventive, full of surprises and played with a fire that only rarely makes it onto record.

The only caveat is that the remarkable sextet in question was extensively documented, performing much the same repertoire. It included Eric Dolphy - one of the supreme jazz figures of the era - on flute, alto and bass clarinet in towering form throughout on extended versions of "Fable of Faubus" and "Meditations", but the rest of the group are not far behind.

If you don't already know mid-'60s Mingus, this double CD is an excellent place to begin. The band, which also boasted Jaki Byard on piano, Johnny Coles trumpet, and Clifford Jordan, tenor, was evidently feeling euphoric that night and the sound is excellent.

And then there's Mingus himself, playing at the top of his form.

Even those who already have a row of recordings by this very ensemble may be tempted by, for example, the wild, impromptu version of "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" played by Mingus for the first and last time in honour of St Patrick's Day.

Unmissable."

I Was There,and What Memories It Brings Back

jazz lover since 1960 | Tampa, Fl. and Franklin, NC | 07/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I traveled by bus to Cornell from my college in Binghamton NY to attend this concert. I had been blown away by Mingus' records since 1961, and wouldn't have missed it for the world. I was the jazz disc jockey for my small college radio station. It is one of my most indelible memories of years of listening to jazz. I can't improve on the positive comments of the other reviewers of this CD, except to say AMEN. This is not the greatest Mingus recording. There are a dozen that equal it, but you cannot go wrong by getting this CD. One "Mingus story" I want to share is that half way through the concert, Mingus started to pound the pointed leg of his bass hard into the stage, saying the stage surface was slippery and his bass was slipping. I don't know if this tactic worked, but I'm sure the marks were in the stage for quite some time. In my opinion, I find this music superior to any of the recordings made by this group in Europe a month later."