Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Opening
2. Atfw You
3. Sophisticated Lady
4. Fables of Faubus
5. Orange Wat the Colour of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk
6. Take the "A" Train

Disc 2:

1. Meditations
2. So Long Eric
3. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
4. Jitterbug Waltz

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74086 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-17
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.com
The band that Charles Mingus, the doyen of jazz's mercurial polymaths, pulled together for his early-1964 European tour was phenomenal—and here they are playing 130 minutes worth of live music no one’s ever heard. Pianist Jaki Byard, alto saxophonist/flutist/bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, trumpeter Johnny Coles, and longtime drummer Dannie Richmond came together for the Mingus tour knowing that Dolphy would be staying in Europe after their gigs—he died tragically just 12 weeks after this gig. And Coles would come perilously close to death himself with a stomach ulcer within a month of the band’s Cornell date, forcing him off the tour. So the music here is particularly special and musically resplendent. There is considerable overlap with the The Great Concert of Charles Mingus, but that 2-CD set is sans the ailing Coles, who fattens the sound here: playing beautifully as "Johnny O'Coles" on the unlikely "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." But Eric Dolphy, his every breath is poetry: from his palpitating bass clarinet on the pugnacious "Fables of Faubus" to the tipsy, whirling flute he plays on "Jitterbug Waltz," a tune he loved playing. The sound here is less crisp than The Great Concert, thick in the middle and ill-defined when it comes to Richmond's drums, leaving the group's interplay like an ear-magnet. "Take the 'A' Train" pays soulful, blossoming homage to Billy Strayhorn even as you can hear the band tightening their grip collectively, learning to fly as a unit. Unheard music of this caliber demands a listen, and here the rewards are bountiful. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

A great introduction to Mingus
Like the 2005 releases Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker), Cornell 1964 is a newly-discovered concert recording. And as with those 2005 releases, the performance just happens to be extraordinary. I'm past the two-dozen mark when it comes to buying Mingus recordings, and I think that Cornell 1964 is the most exciting Mingus music I've heard.

What a concert those lucky students were given:

"ATFW You": Jaki Byard's fleet, witty parade of Art Tatumisms and Fats Wallerisms.

"Sophisticated Lady": for bass. Mingus never stopped paying tribute to Duke Ellington.

"Fables of Faubus": A Weillian send-up of Orval Faubus, segregationist governor of Arkansas. The lyrics here are, alas, inaudible. (A sample: "Two, four, six, eight, they brainwash and teach you hate.") A very lengthy "Fables," dipping into various streams of musical Americana along the way. Here, as elsewhere, Mingus and Richmond are the most inventive bass-and-drums pairing in jazz, changing tempos and textures and thereby pushing soloists to dig deeper: the rhythm section as personal trainer.

"Orange Was the Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk": One of Mingus's most beautiful compositions, with overtones of Ellington, "Blues in the Night," and "Body and Soul."

"Take the 'A' Train": I think that it's here that everything rises to a very high level of energy. As Clifford Jordan begins his second chorus, Mingus calls to Johnny Coles and Eric Dolphy: "Join in," and the band takes off. Jordan is the great surprise on this performance and on the rest of the recording, playing with greater intensity and freedom than on the European tour recordings (or at least the ones that I've heard). And Coles, who missed much of the European tour with a stomach ulcer, is brilliant here and elsewhere. I'm only now realizing that he was an influence on Lester Bowie, one of my favorite trumpeters.

"Meditations": like "Orange," a composition in markedly different sections. Particularly powerful solos from Byard and Dolphy (bass clarinet).

"So Long Eric": Twelve-bar blues. Mingus plants the endpin of his bass in the floor, and not for the first time: "Well, we got several holes now." The tempo here is slower than on other recordings of this tune. Mingus calls to Johnny Coles: "Come on, Johnny." He calls to Jaki Byard: "By yourself," and bass and drums drop out. No problem: Byard turns into Art Tatum and Erroll Garner. It's Clifford Jordan's turn to solo: "I know you swing," says Mingus. And before Dannie Richmond's solo: "Go!"

Two encores follow, the first featuring "the only Irishman in the band," "Johnny O'Coles." (Note the concert date.) And finally, a giddy, slightly wobbly "Jitterbug Waltz," the elegant Fats Waller melody that Eric Dolphy loved to play.

For a newcomer to Mingus' music, Cornell 1964 is a perfect start: three major Mingus compositions ("Fables," "Orange," "Meditations"), some blues, some strong evidence of Mingus' reverence for his musical ancestors, and a charming novelty, all played by what many listeners regard as Mingus' greatest band.

A prime example of the Mingus band in action.
The discovery of previously unissued material by major artists does not always deliver on its apparent promise, but this heretofore unknown date is not only of historic significance, but is also a prime example of the Mingus band in action.
It was recorded at Cornell University in March, shortly before the European tour of 1964, and features a line-up of Mingus's ever-changing Jazz Workshop that has not been preserved in studio recordings.
The two-disc set not only adds a new slice of high-quality music to the Mingus catalogue, but also extends the available material from saxophonist Eric Dolphy, who is prominently featured here (three months before his death in Berlin) alongside Clifford Jordan on tenor saxophone, Johnny Coles on trumpet, pianist Jaki Byard, Dannie Richmond on drums, and the magisterial Mingus on bass.
They make amazing music: the incredible dynamism of the compositions is captured perfectly by an ensemble that manages to be wild and controlled at the same time.
Even more than his bass-playing, it's this prodigious bandleading feat - which musicians today still aspire to - that lies at the heart of Mingus' genius and continued relevance.
This two-disc package is a perfect chance to check out the magic - live and undiluted.
Essential listening for Mingus fans, and equally recommended for anyone with an interest in 1960s jazz.

Unmissable.
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.