Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots (Hybrid SACD)
Bass – Charles Mingus [click here to see more Vinyl/SACD featuring Charles Mingus]
Piano – Horace Parlan [click here to see more Vinyl/SACD featuring Horace Parlan]
Piano – Mal Waldron [click here to see more Vinyl/SACD featuring Mal Waldron]
Tenor Saxophone – Booker Ervin [click here to see more Vinyl/SACD featuring Booker Ervin]
Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean [click here to see more Vinyl/SACD featuring Jackie McLean]
Alto Saxophone – John Handy
Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams
Drums – Dannie Richmond
Trombone – Jimmy Knepper, Willie Dennis
Written by Charles Mingus
1 Hybrid SACD
Original analog Master tape : YES
Stereo
Studio
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Atlantic
Recorded February 4, 1959, at Atlantic Studios in New York City
Engineered by Tom Dowd
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun
Liner Notes by Charles Mingus, Diane Dorr-Dorynek
Photography by Lee Friedlander
Originally released in March 1960
Reissued in 2023
Tracks :
- Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
- Cryin' Blues
- Moanin'
- Tensions
- My Jelly Roll Soul
- E's Flat Ah's Flat Too
Reviews :
“In response to critical carping that his ambitious, evocative music somehow didn't swing enough, Charles Mingus returned to the earthiest and earliest sources of black musical expression, namely the blues, gospel, and old-time New Orleans jazz. The resulting LP, Blues and Roots, isn't quite as wildly eclectic as usual, but it ranks as arguably Mingus' most joyously swinging outing. Working with simple forms, Mingus boosts the complexity of the music by assembling a nine-piece outfit and arranging multiple lines to be played simultaneously -- somewhat akin to the Dixieland ensembles of old, but with an acutely modern flavor. Anyone who had heard "Haitian Fight Song" shouldn't have been surprised that such an album was well within Mingus' range, but jazz's self-appointed guardians have long greeted innovation with reactionary distaste. After Blues and Roots, there could be no question of Mingus' firm grounding in the basics, nor of his deeply felt affinity with them. Whether the music is explicitly gospel-based -- like the groundbreaking classic "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" -- or not, the whole album is performed with a churchy fervor that rips through both the exuberant swingers and the aching, mournful slow blues. Still, it's the blues that most prominently inform the feeling of the album, aside from the aforementioned "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" and the Jelly Roll Morton tribute "My Jelly Roll Soul." The recording session was reportedly very disorganized, but perhaps that actually helped give the performances the proper feel, since they wound up so loose and free-swinging. With a lineup including John Handy and Jackie McLean on alto, Booker Ervin on tenor, frequent anchor Pepper Adams on baritone, and Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis on trombones, among others, Blues and Roots isn't hurting for fiery soloists, and they help make the album perhaps the most soulful in Mingus' discography.” AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
Rating
AllMusic 5 / 5 , Discogs 4.88 / 5