Cover of the album being discussed
Following up on Sunday’s article about the new Resonance Records release of the Kenny Dorham album Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco, I am happy to report that, this coming Friday, Resonance will release the two-CD set Mingus In Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts. As most readers will expect, Amazon.com has already created a Web page for processing pre-orders. Many readers probably know that I do my best to account for every new Mingus album, whether it involves his own performance or others playing his compositions.
This new offering is a quintet album with long-time Mingus partner Danny Richmond on drums. The front line is taken by tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford and Jack Wolrath in trumpet. Rhythm is also provided by Robert Neloms on piano. The tracks include two solo piano improvisations by Mingus. The tracks were recorded at two different venues in Buenos Aires on June 2 and 3, 1977.
Both performances included a salute to Charlie Parker with performances of “Koko” and “Cherokee.” The more I learn about Mingus, the more I have come to appreciate his interest in jazz history. This includes not only Parker compositions but also a serious admiration for Duke Ellington, realized through Mingus having composed “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love.” As a result, this album is not only a reflection on jazz inventions from the second half of the twentieth century but also an acknowledgement of how those inventions reflected on the first half.
I suspect that Mingus would have cringed if anyone tried to call him a musicologist, but each of the selections he brought to Buenos Aires had its own take on reflecting on the past.
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