Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4: MINGUS BIG BAND in L.A. as part of the celebrations for the new Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center in Watts. The band will be playing at the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park, and the Warner Grand in San Pedro. More info on the Tour page.
Trumpets: Greg Gisbert, Sean Jones, Lew Soloff Saxophones: Seamus Blake, Mark Gross, Jaleel Shaw, Jason Marshall, Scott Robinson Trombones: Clark Gayton, Conrad Herwig, Earl McIntyre Drums: Justin Faulkner Bass: Andy McKee Piano: Kenny Drew, Jr.
...In addition to the Watts Towers Drum and Jazz Festivals, there will be three major Jazz concerts focusing on the music of Charles Mingus. Two concerts, one at the Madrid Theater in the San Fernando Valley, and the other at the Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro in the southern tip of the City, will feature the music of the Charles Mingus Big Band. The final concert is envisioned as a gala tribute and will take place at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in the Mid City/Leimert Park community. It will feature LA-based, nationally recognized musicians who played with, or were deeply influenced by, Mr. Mingus....
"It's hard to describe the sound of a 14-piece jazz orchestra playing the work of Charles Mingus … it was just sensational, the crowd went wild, and Marcus Johnson was also probably the best I've ever heard him."
MINGUS BIG BAND Sat, Sept 13 at Silver Springs, MD. October 3, 4 in L. A. & MINGUS MONDAYS at Jazz Standard
Trumpets: Tatum Greenblatt, Alex Sipiagin, Lew Soloff
Saxophones: Seamus Blake, Abraham Burton, Jason Marshall, Scott Robinson, Jaleel Shaw Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Earl McIntyre
Drums: Donald Edwards Bass: Dwayne Burno
Piano: David Kikoski
Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4: MINGUS BIG BAND in L.A. as part of the celebrations for the new Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center in Watts. The band will be playing at the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park, and the Warner Grand in San Pedro. More info on the Tour page.
Trumpets: Greg Gisbert, Sean Jones, Lew Soloff Saxophones: Seamus Blake, Mark Gross, Jaleel Shaw, Jason Marshall, Scott Robinson Trombones: Clark Gayton, Conrad Herwig, Earl McIntyre Drums: Justin Faulkner Bass: Andy McKee Piano: Kenny Drew, Jr.
MINGUS MONDAYS kicks
off with a full week of Mingus October 6-13, with all three bands and
special guests, and then every Monday featuring alternating bands.
Mingus Dynasty, Orchestra & Big Band Establish A New Long-Term Residency At NYC’s Foremost Jazz Club
Outstanding Musicians From Across the Generations Fill the Ranks of Three Great Bands
Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30, with an extra 11:30 set on Fridays and Saturdays. Doors open an hour prior.
Jazz Standard features wonderful Blue Smoke BBQ. There is never a minimum.
Come celebrate our new Jazz Standard residency starting Monday, October 6th.
"A new youth arts center in Watts run by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs will have its grand opening later this month during a weekend when two festivals will be happening. Named after the famous jazz musician and past local resident, the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center will expand space for youth arts programs. The new building, which is next to the Watts Towers Arts Center, will bring more classroom space expanding the department's educational classes that give children a safe and creative atmosphere for individual expression with guidance and direction from professional artists."
All that and a pork pie hat: Fifth annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival
by Chris Slattery
..."Sue Graham Mingus says the Mingus music is a perfect fit for a festival focused on young performers, local talent and community togetherness.
"This music has enormous energy," she says. "It really demands that individual musicians come in and play themselves, tell who they are. There are lots of open spaces."
The Mingus oeuvre of more than 300 compositions can be challenging, and rewarding, for musicians and listeners alike. The score of his orchestral masterpiece "Epitaph" is 500 pages, and there's a whole sub-genre known as "Simply Mingus" that's recommended for students. But Sue Graham Mingus wants her husband's legacy to include his sense of fun and wonder – and empathy.
"Charles appreciated the idea of risk and surprises," she says.
"That's what we associate with jazz. You take risks, and stumble sometimes, and recover. We thrive on the unpredictability and excitement."
PDF of This release Media Contact: Theresa Mullen, 646.747.7217, tmullen [at] ushgnyc.com
MINGUS MOVES! TO JAZZ STANDARD IN OCTOBER • ANNOUNCING MINGUS MONDAYS AT JAZZ STANDARD • MINGUS DYNASTY, ORCHESTRA & BIG BAND ESTABLISH A NEW LONG-TERM RESIDENCY AT NEW YORK’S FOREMOST JAZZ CLUB • OUTSTANDING MUSICIANS FROM ACROSS THE GENERATIONS FILL THE RANKS OF THREE GREAT BANDS
NEW YORK CITY/AUGUST 28 — Jazz Standard and Sue Mingus announced today a new home for the music of legendary jazz composer/bassist/band leader Charles Mingus. Beginning with a gala week of performances in October, the Mingus organization will begin its long-term residency at Jazz Standard with alternating weekly appearances by Mingus Dynasty, the Mingus Orchestra, and the Mingus Big Band. Monday nights at Jazz Standard, beginning October 6, 2008, will be known as “Mingus Mondays”.
The new extended engagement kicks off October 6-7 with performances by Mingus Dynasty – the original Charles Mingus legacy group, formed by Sue Mingus from among his most valuable sidemen shortly after their leader’s death in 1979. Although lineups are still being confirmed at press time, recent editions of Mingus Dynasty have included saxophonists Craig Handy, Seamus Blake, and Jaleel Shaw; trombonists Conrad Herwig and Ku-umba Frank Lacy; and pianists Orrin Evans and David Kikoski, with the redoubtable Boris Kozlov (bass) and Adam Cruz (drums) holding down the rhythm section.
The excitement continues October 8-9 with the Mingus Orchestra. Sue Mingus assembled the Mingus Orchestra in 1999 to focus on Charles Mingus’ compositions, with less emphasis on extended soloing. The Orchestra’s distinctive sound emerges from an expanded repertoire and a diverse instrumentation that may include bassoon, bass clarinet, French horn, and guitar. From October 10-12, the Mingus Big Band will hold forth at Jazz Standard. Writing in The New York Times, Jon Pareles hailed the Big Band for having “revived Charles Mingus’ repertory and the brawling, muscular, hard-swinging, bluesy way he wanted it played.”
"We are delighted and honored to have Jazz Standard chosen by Sue Mingus as the new home for this timeless music,” said Seth Abramson, artistic director for Jazz Standard. “The genius of Charles Mingus’ compositions and arrangements is matched by the talent and enthusiasm of the players in each of these three outstanding bands.”
Trumpets: Tatum Greenblatt, Kenny Rampton, Lew Soloff
Saxophone: Seamus Blake, Abraham Burton, Mark Gross, Jason Marshall,
Donny McCaslin Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Earl McIntyre
Drums: Donald Edwards Bass: Dwayne Burno
Piano: Helen Sung
2 sets 8:30 and 10:30
This is the final night of the Mingus residency at Iridium. We thank you for supporting a great four-year run!
Sue Mingus announces, next month: MINGUS MONDAYS AT JAZZ STANDARD!
MINGUS MONDAYS kicks
off with a full week of Mingus October 6-13, with all three bands and
special guests, and then every Monday featuring alternating bands. Mingus Dynasty, Orchestra & Big Band Establish A New Long-Term Residency At NYC’s Foremost Jazz Club Outstanding Musicians From Across the Generations Fill the Ranks of Three Great Bands
Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30, with an extra 11:30 set on Fridays and Saturdays. Doors open an hour prior.
Jazz Standard features wonderful Blue Smoke BBQ. There is never a minimum.
Please join us for our final night at Iridium Tuesday, September 2nd. Come celebrate our new Jazz Standard residency starting Monday, October 6th.
"mingus is an advanced music theory and notation package for Python. It can be used to play around with music theory, to build editors, educational tools and other applications that need to process music. It can also be used to create sheet music with LilyPond."
Saturday, August 16, 2008 Gibson Baldwin Jazz Fest at Whole Food on Bowery. 5:30pm Sue Mingus will sign copies of her book Tonight at Noon while Mingus Epitaph and Orchestra member Jack Wilkins performs with Carl Barry. 95 East Houston St. FREE.
Tuesday, August
19th, 2008 8:30
and 10:30Mingus Dynasty
at Iridium. 51st and B'way. Alto saxophone Mark Gross Tenor Saxophone Wayne Escoffery Trumpet Kenny Rampton Trombone Conrad Herwig Bass Ugonna Okegwo Piano Orrin Evans Drums Donald Edwards
Tuesday, August
12th, 20088:30
and 10:30 Mingus
Dynasty at Iridium. 51st and B'way.
Alto saxophone Jaleel Shaw
Tenor Saxophone Wayne Escoffery
Trumpet Alex Sipiagin
Trombone Andy Hunter
Bass Boris Kozlov
Piano Helen Sung
Drums Donald Edwards
Tuesday, August
19th, 2008 8:30
and 10:30Mingus Dynasty
at Iridium. 51st and B'way. Alto saxophone Mark Gross Tenor Saxophone Wayne Escoffery Trumpet Kenny Rampton Trombone Conrad Herwig Bass Ugonna Okegwo Piano Orrin Evans Drums Donald Edwards
...while none of the participants had played with the master, they delivered his 1950s-through-1970s works with the kind of verve, spark and precision that he demanded, and that anyone who had heard him live would recognize, and regale in....
....Jazz legend Charles Mingus abandoned his monumental masterpiece, "Epitaph," after one aborted performance. But the rediscovered score has been completed and performed by new generations. National Public Radio is streaming the full, 2½-hour piece for 31 musicians, plus an hourlong special and background story, free at www.npr.org/music. Also new there this week is a 2½-hour concert from Tom Waits' "Glitter & Doom" summer tour.
Mingus Orchestra at Washington Square Park NYC and Dynasty at Iridium Tues 7/29/08
Mon, Jul. 28 2008
LIVE MINGUS PERFORMANCES:
Tuesday, July 29, 8 pm Charles Mingus Orchestraat Washington Square Park in NYC. FREE! Lineup Craig Handy, alto saxophone/clarinet/flute/soprano sax Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone/soprano sax Conrad Herwig, trombone Kenny Rampton, trumpet Donald Edwards, drums Boris Kozlov, bass Janet Grice, bassoon John Clark, French horn David Gilmore, guitar Doug Yates, bass clarinet
Also Tuesday, July 29 Mingus Dynasty will be playing at Iridium
(51st and B'way) in New York City
Alto saxophone Mark Gross
Tenor Saxophone Wayne Escoffery
Trumpet Tatum Greenblatt
Trombone Andy Hunter
Bass Dwayne Burno
Piano Helen Sung
Drums Quincy Davis
TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced
for students both sets.
Tuesday,
July 15 Mingus
Dynasty at Iridium
(51st and B'way) in New York City Lineup Trumpet: Alex Sipiagan
Alto Saxophone: Craig Handy Tenor Saxophone: Brandon Wright Trombones: Andy Hunter
Drums: Adam Cruz
Bass: Brad Jones
Piano: David Kikoski TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced
for students both sets.
Tuesday, July 29, 8 pm Washington Square Park Charles Mingus Orchestra in NYC. FREE! Lineup Craig Handy, alto saxophone/clarinet/flute/soprano sax Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone/soprano sax Conrad Herwig, trombone Kenny Rampton, trumpet Donald Edwards, drums Boris Kozlov, bass Janet Grice, bassoon Bobby Rouch, French horn David Gilmore, guitar Doug Yates, bass clarinet
JOHN HANDY QUINTET (Friday through Sunday)
From NYT:
"Best known for his work with Charles Mingus and Randy Weston in the late 1950s, John Handy is still a musician of flexible means; here he plays alto saxophone, clarinet, oboe and saxello. Craig Handy (not related) joins him on tenor saxophone; their top-flight rhythm section consists of Helen Sung on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and Victor Lewis on drums. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set Friday and Saturday, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; cover, $30; $25 on Sunday."
Line-ups: Dynasty at Iridium 7/8/08 and Orchestra in Washington Square Park 7/29/08
Lineup Trumpet: Kenny Rampton
Alto Saxophone: Tia Fuller Tenor Saxophone: Wayne Escoffery Trombones: Jonathan Arons
Drums: Donald Edwards
Bass: Boris Kozlov
Piano: David Kikoski
TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced
for students both sets.
Tuesday, July 29, 8 pm Washington Square Park Charles Mingus Orchestra in NYC. FREE! Lineup Craig Handy, alto saxophone/clarinet/flute/soprano sax Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone/soprano sax Conrad Herwig, trombone Kenny Rampton, trumpet Donald Edwards, drums Boris Kozlov, bass Janet Grice, bassoon Bobby Rouch, French horn David Gilmore, guitar Doug Yates, bass clarinet
Dynasty lineup 6/24/08, Cornell wins Jazz Journalists Assn Award
Lineup Trumpet: Alex Sipiagin
Alto Saxophone: Craig Handy
Tenor Saxophone: Abraham Burton Trombones: Ku-umba Frank Lacy
Drums: Donald Edwards
Bass: Boris Kozlov
Piano: Helen Sung
TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced
for students both sets.
Shadows. 1959. USA. Written and directed by John Cassavetes. Music by Shafi Hadi, Charles Mingus. With Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd. Cassavetes's vital, poignant, and humorous story of interracial romance and "passing"—often hailed as an American counterpart to Godard's Breathless (also 1959)—shattered cinematic conventions with its improvisational acting, jumpy editing, and handheld camerawork in the streets, coffee shops, late-night parties, and sculpture gardens of New York City. 87 min.
Friday, July 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, July 6, 2008, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Mingus Big Band 6/10 and 6/17 at Iridium, 6/18 at Clifford Brown Festival
Mon, Jun. 9 2008
Mingus
music heats up in the summertime! Some old favorites rejoin the mix, and this
Tuesday we have both Strickland brothers in the band at the same time! Plus, for the next few weeks at Iridium we'll be preparing for the Clifford Brown festival, so we'll be featuring some material from Epitaph, and a Clifford Brown tune the band will perform in his honor.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Tuesday,
June 10 Mingus
Big Band at
Iridium
(51st and B'way) in New York City
Lineup Trumpets: Alex Sipiagin, Earl Gardner, Kenny Rampton
Saxophone: Marcus Strickland, Mark Gross, Donny McCaslin, Abraham
Burton, Lauren Sevian
Trombones: Conrad Herwig , Clark Gayton, Earl McIntyre
Drums: E.J. Strickland
Bass: Boris Kozlov
Piano: Bruce Barth
TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced for students both sets.
Tuesday,
June 17
Mingus Big Band at
Iridium
(51st and B'way) in New York City
Lineup Trumpets: Jack Walrath, Earl Gardner, Tatum Greenblatt
Saxophone: Wayne Escoffery, Craig Handy, Donny McCaslin, Abraham Burton,
Lauren Sevian
Trombones: Clark Gayton, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Dave Taylor
Drums: Donald Edwards
Bass: Joe Martin
Piano: Orrin Evans
TWO
SETS 8:30 AND 10:30.
$25/half-priced for students both sets.
Wednesday,
June 18 The Mingus Big Band performs at the FREE Clifford
Brown Jazz Festival at Rodney Square
in Wilmington, DE.
Lineup
Trumpets: Greg Gisbert, Earl Gardner, Alex
Sipiagin
Saxophones: Wayne Escoffery, Craig Handy,
Seamus Blake, Abraham Burton, Jason Marshall
Trombones: Clark Gayton, Ku-umba Frank Lacy,
Earl McIntyre
Drums: Donald Edwards
Bass: Boris Kozlov
Piano: Orrin Evans
Tuesday, June 3 Mingus Dynasty at Iridium (51st and B'way) in New York City
Lineup Alto saxophone - Craig Handy, Tenor Saxophone - Donny McCaslin, Trumpet - Kenny Rampton, Trombone - Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Bass - Boris Kozlov, Piano - Helen Sung, Drums - Donald Edwards
TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. $25/half-priced for students both sets.
Wednesday,
June 18 The Mingus Big Band performs at the FREE Clifford Brown Jazz Festival at Rodney Square in Wilmington, DE.
Lineup Trumpets: Greg Gisbert, Earl Gardner, Alex Sipiagin
Saxophones: Wayne Escoffery, Craig Handy, Seamus Blake, Abraham Burton, Jason Marshall
Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Earl McIntyre
Drums: Donald Edwards
Bass: Boris Kozlov
Piano: Orrin Evans
52. Charles Mingus, “Mingus at the Bohemia (Debut, 1955).
53. Charles Mingus, “Mingus Ah Um” (Columbia, 1959).
54. Charles Mingus Sextet, “Cornell 1964” (Blue Note, 2007).
Dynasty line-up for Iridium and Barack Obama Fundraiser.
Tue, May. 20 2008
Mingus Dynasty Tonight, May 20 at Iridium in New York City Lineup:
Alto saxophone · Craig Handy, Tenor Saxophone · Seamus Blake, Trumpet ·
Kenny Rampton, Trombone · Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Bass · Boris Kozlov,
Piano · David Kikoski, Drums · Adam Cruz TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30.
Wednesday, May 21 The Mingus Dynasty was asked to perform at a swanky fundraiser for Barack Obama
at the brand new HUDSON TERRACE 621 W. 46th at 11th Ave. Event is from 7-11pm, Dynasty plays at 9pm (Also on the bill before the Dynasty, the Ahn Trio, and Hilary McRae.)Tickets are available here. Lineup: Wayne Escoffery, Tatum Greenblatt, Jaleel Shaw, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Boris Kozlov, Helen Sung, and E.J. Strickland.
Tuesday, May 27 at Iridium in New York City Lineup: Mark Gross, Wayne Escoffery, Kenny Rampton, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Boris Kozlov, David Kikoski, Donald Edwards. TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30.
Reissue of the Year
* Cornell 1964, Charles Mingus Sextet (Blue Note)
Large Ensemble of the Year (9+ pieces)
* Mingus Big Band
The Awards will be celebrated Wednesday, June 18, at a cocktail reception 3 to 6 pm at the Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., NYC).
Finalists, honored for excellence in jazz and jazz journalism, will be voted upon by professional members of the JJA toward selection of a representative recipient (aka “winner").
TUES, APRIL 22 MINGUS BIRTHDAY As testament to to power of Mingus music to attract the greatest musicians playing today, two outstanding Mingus Big Bands are both celebrating Mingus birthday on April 22nd, coast to coast.
IN NEW YORK: April 22 Mingus Birthday Celebration at Iridium in New York City Lineup: Trumpets: Lew Soloff, Earl Gardner, Kenny Rampton Saxophone: Marcus Strickland, Jaleel Shaw, Vincent Herring, Scott Robinson, Ronnie Cuber Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Clark Gayton, Dave Taylor Drums: Gene Jackson Bass: Boris Kozlov Piano: George Colligan TWO SETS 8:30 AND 10:30. MAKE RESERVATIONS AT IRIDIUM 212-582-2121. Preceded by a performance by the Yale Jazz Ensemble at 6:30 pm, no cover. IN SF April 22-April 27 Mingus Big Band at Yoshi's in San Francisco and Oakland Lineup: Trumpet: Alex Sipiagin, Vitaly Golovnev, Greg Gisbert Saxophone: Craig Handy, Wayne Escoffery, Mark Gross, Abraham Burton, Jason Marshall Trombones: Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Andy Hunter, Earl McIntyre Drums: Donald Edwards Bass: Ugonna Okegwo Piano: Kenny Drew Jr.
Worldwide web and radio: WKCR will host its annual 24-hour Mingus RADIO broadcast
And Sirius
celebrates the birth of Charles Mingus with music curated by his widow
Sue Mingus. Every hour, throughout the day, listeners will hear a
Mingus tune and Sue Mingus will explain the significance of each one. Tuesday, April 22, starting at 6 am to 12 midnight ET.
A jazz festival will be held over two weekends in Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico in a joint effort to honor the late Charles Mingus. Mingus, who played and composed for most of the jazz greats, was born in Nogales, Ariz., and died in Mexico, and this is the second time the two communities, known collectively as Ambos Nogales, have worked together to hold a jazz festival in Mingus’s honor.
By Andrea Canter
Mingus Big Band Birthday Celebration, Coast to Coast on April 22nd
Every Tuesday night, one of the Mingus legacy bands takes over the bandstand at the Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan to celebrate and promote the music of legendary bassist Charles Mingus. On April 22nd, the Mingus Big Band further honors the 86th birthday of a man of divergent, often controversial tastes and a singular mission to create music. The celebration will not be limited to the Iridium, however, as a second edition of the Mingus Big Band will perform at Yoshi’s in San Francisco as well on April 22nd, then move to across the Bay to Oakland, April 24-27. Additional Mingus celebrations will be broadcast on Radio WKCR and Sirius.
The Yale Jazz Ensemble, led by Music Director David M. Brandenburg, will open for the Mingus Big Band on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, Charles Mingus' birthday, at 6:30 pm at the Iridium Jazz Club (1650 Broadway at 51st Street).
The Ensemble will be joined by special guest Niko Higgins, saxophone. There is a $10 minimum with no cover charge. (There is an additional charge to stay for the Mingus Big Band.) Call (212) 582-2121 or visit iridiumjazzclub.com for more information.
Founded in 1991, the Mingus Big Band performs the music of legendary composer and bassist Charles Mingus. Under the artistic direction of Sue Mingus, the group tours widely in the United States and abroad, and has recorded nine albums, six of which have been nominated for GRAMMY Awards. Since 2004, the Mingus Big Band has performed every Tuesday night at the Iridium Jazz Club, which has been hailed by New York Magazine as “New York's Best Jazz Club".
Niko Higgins is a saxophonist and composer who lives in New York City where he leads the Niko Higgins Ensemble. His two albums, “Inbetween" (2003) and “From Eye to Ear" (2006), are released by Engine Studios.
The Yale Jazz Ensemble (YJE) is an eighteen-piece big band that performs a wide variety of music, from Yale's Benny Goodman archive to the newest and most progressive jazz compositions. The Ensemble has performed extensively in the United States and internationally at such venues as New York's Village Vanguard and London's Ronnie Scott's. The YJE has performed with or opened for The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band, the World Saxophone Quartet, Jane Ira Bloom, Jimmy Owens, and Branford Marsalis.
Mingus Birthday events April 22, 2008
Tue, Apr. 8 2008
Two Mingus Big Bands play coast to cost.
Also,
WKCR hosts its annual 24-hour Mingus broadcast
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/
Sirius celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month Mingus on Mingus Sirius celebrates the birth of Charles Mingus with music curated by his widow Sue Mingus. Every hour, throughout the day, listeners will hear a Mingus tune and Sue Mingus will explain the significance of each one. Tuesday, April 22, starting at 6 am to 12 midnight ET.
The New York Canon: Books From Norman Mailer to Rem Koolhaas, 26 works of lapidary New Yorkitude. By Sam Anderson
CHARLES MINGUS, BENEATH THE UNDERDOG, 1971
Charles Mingus was categorically uncategorizable: white, black, Asian; bassist, bandleader, composer; L.A., New York. He always insisted that his music was not jazz: It was Mingus music. This whacked-out half-fictional memoir (cf. his early experiences as a pimp) is not autobiography: It’s Mingus writing. It makes today’s fictioneering memoirists look like stenographers, and vacuum-seals the mid-century scene’s flavor more potently than mere fact ever could.
Trumpets: Alex Sipiagin, Tatum Greenblatt, Kenny Rampton
Saxophone: Wayne Escoffery, Steve Slagle, Mark Gross, Abraham Burton, Jason Marshall
Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Andy Hunter, Earl McIntyre
Drums: Gene Jackson
Bass: John Benitez
Piano: Orrin Evans
Friday, April 11, 2008, 2:00 - 3:45
Abstract:
"Mingus, Cassavetes, and the Politics of Improv"
“Jazz is orgasm, it is the music of orgasm, good orgasm and bad, and so it spoke across a nation… it spoke in no matter what laundered popular way of instantaneous existential states to which some whites could respond, it was indeed a communication of art because it said, ’I feel this, and now you do too.’” -- Norman Mailer, “The White Negro”
Norman Mailer’s remarks in his controversial 1957 essay speak to a collision and melding of the races in popular culture that we still witness today. Yet nowhere are Mailer’s themes embodied more fully than in John Cassavetes’ seminal independent film of the same year, Shadows, which featured an original score by Charles Mingus. This lecture examines the complex and explosive collaboration of Cassavetes and Mingus, two of the United States’ leading improvisational artists, at a pivotal moment in the history of independent cinema, jazz, and race relations.
Through an integration of film clips, texts, and still photographs, this presentation examines connections between the film’s loose narrative—of three mixed-race siblings living day-to-day in mid-50s New York bohemia--and the film’s revolutionary making, which in many ways inverted the plot. In Mingus’s score, which Cassavetes edited severely, one finds the truest expression of the film’s exploration of cultural identity. The score encapsulates Cassavetes’ and Mingus’s unique approaches to both improvisation and composition in their respective media, illuminating the oppositional nature of jazz to mainstream cultural production—and in turn, the underbelly of race relations in 1950s America.
Two sets at 8:30 and 10:30
at Iridium, 51st and Broadway.
Alto Saxophone
Mark Gross Tenor Saxophone
Donny McCaslin
Trumpet
Ryan Kisor Trombone
Andy Hunter
Bass
Boris Kozlov
Piano
George Colligan
Drums
Gene Jackson
Mingus and Monk
Show #2526
Explore the music Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk, New Sounds-style. From Cuban percussionist Anga to the Massachusetts big band Either/Orchestra, from ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers to avant-garde composer George Crumb, the echoes of Monk and Mingus can be heard in a wide variety of new settings. We'll sample a few of the more unusual renditions of their classic tunes for this New Sounds program.
...Kozak said he didn't think there has been much of a focus on Mingus at the University.
"I've always admired his music," Kozak said. "It's a great opportunity for students to see what Mingus was about."
Kozak also said Mingus' music is important because students who want to be diverse jazz musicians need to be willing to understand and play all types of genres.
Kozak said he was proud of the Jazz Ensemble and, "They did a fantastic job. I'm super happy."
Some students who attended the concert said they enjoyed Mingus' music.
"The soloists were really fun and energetic. They make you excited to be there. You can tell they're having fun," said Meredith Reaves, a sophomore majoring in music education.
"I liked the selection of music. He's a great composer," said Margaret Dixon, a junior majoring in music performance.
...Simply put, the Mingus Big Band is a wonder and an anomaly. During a time when the few surviving big bands, like the Count Basie Orchestra and Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, tour the world like beautiful museum treasures, the Mingus Band has taken a musical legacy and transformed it into a creative force that generates a contemporary originality and vitality all its own. They are an important part of the current jazz scene and a constant reminder that jazz—big band jazz, at that—is not merely entertainment but a powerful art form and means of expression. Kudos to this band, to Sue Mingus, and to the extraordinary and tragic man whose spirit pervades it all—the late, great Charles Mingus.
...It takes a certain musician to play the demanding, eccentric works of Mingus, the late jazz bassist and composer. The Mingus Big Band, under the offstage direction of Sue Mingus, Charles' widow, has 14 such musicians, all world class, spanning several generations. It is perhaps the most racially integrated large ensemble operating today.
The group's weekly gig at Iridium in New York has given it an extraordinary solidity and sense of daring. Heavy snow couldn't keep the Philly audience away."
...the Mingus group, with its unstoppable rhythm section in bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Donald Edwards, set the evening's agenda.
Philly pianist Orrin Evans landed improvisatory bull's-eyes on the opening "Haitian Fight Song" and the closing "Pedal Point Blues." Alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, a Philly-born rising star, followed the formidable trombonist Conrad Herwig on "Ysabel's Table Dance," steering the piece into choppier waters.
"Children's Hour of Dream," a movement from the through-composed epic Epitaph, offered a window into Mingus' Third Stream writing, nearly classical in character.
Fri, Feb 22 Kimmel Center Philadelphia, PA
Arrive early for a pre-show artist chat with Sue Mingus at 6:30pm in the Merck Arts Education Center in Philadelphia. Sat, Feb 23 Elmhurst College Jazz Festival Elmhurst, IL
Trumpets: Lew Soloff, Kenny Rampton, Earl Gardner in PA, Alex Sipiagin in IL
Saxophones: Seamus Blake, Craig Handy, Jaleel Shaw, Vincent Herring, Jason Marshall Trombones: Andy Hunter, Conrad Herwig, Earl McIntyre Drums: Donald Edwards Bass: Boris Kozlov Piano: Orrin Evans
MINGUS BIG BAND performs
Sat, Mar 8 & Sun, Mar 9 Carnaval Miami in Coral Gables, FL
THE LYRIC CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF NEW YORK PRESENTS ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC: PROGRAMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
FEBRUARY 27, 2008 7.30pm Kosciuscko Foundation
AUSTRIA AND BEYOND
David Taylor and Friends
"To the Distant Beloved"
A Journey from Schubert to Mingus
IT'S HERE! MINGUS MONDAYS AT JAZZ STANDARD in NYC.
