When you first described your Mingus countdown to me, I had no idea that it’d look like that. I love that you stuck so true to yourself, put The Clown so high and delivered such great observations. Looking forward to reading all of this, it’s brilliant stuff! And really makes me think what a Mingus list of my own would look like... I’d probably put BS&TSL at #1 knowing me haha.
This! Quite a cool project and list by an A+ user and a legendary artist (that I am woefully unaware of all things considered.) _________________ -Ryan
Slightly late on the Mingus reviews train, but it's quite a list. Just like Hayden, my order would be completely different (and subject to change) but not anything close to this. Although I agree that Tijuana Moods is one of his best easily, so many bangers including one of my all time tracks Ysabel's Table Dance. I'd agree that it's easily one of the most memorable melodies he's ever written, but the catch is that even after a long time of loving it it's still just as great as on the first listen.
Better late than never 😉
And yeah, all the fun is in finding out how different everyone's perception of the same artist/album/song/whatever is, if everyone had the same list, it would be too boring.
Well said on Tijuana Moods/Ysabel's Table Dance.
Komorebi-D wrote:
When you first described your Mingus countdown to me, I had no idea that it’d look like that. I love that you stuck so true to yourself, put The Clown so high and delivered such great observations. Looking forward to reading all of this, it’s brilliant stuff! And really makes me think what a Mingus list of my own would look like... I’d probably put BS&TSL at #1 knowing me haha.
Mercury wrote:
This! Quite a cool project and list by an A+ user and a legendary artist (that I am woefully unaware of all things considered.)
Cheers guys, appreciate it.
And if I pushed you even to the slightest towards exploring more Mingus, that counts as a win in my book.
Hayden wrote:
Meant Mingus binge 🤣 (not sure what you were getting at). All good.
That was my initial understanding, ending your phrase with "though" somehow confused me, whatever, just me hallucinating. 🤣
Hayden wrote:
Not including his collabs and concerts (Money Jungle, etc), I think my top 10 would float along the lines of—
1. The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
2. Mingus Ah Um
3. Pithecanthropus Erectus
4. Let My Children Hear Music
5. Tijuana Moods
6. Blues & Roots
7. Mingus Dynasty
8 (tie). A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music And Poetry
8 (tie). The Clown
10. Oh Yeah
11. Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
12. Mingus Moves
13. Pre-Bird
14. East Coasting
15. Mingus Three
Which is slightly less interesting than your list, I'll admit. It's also more than 10 I think. Should note there's a noticeable gap between #11 and #12. Also, picking an order between #3-6 is near impossible. Might play them all back-to-back on the weekend and reorder or something. It's been a while since I last heard Blues & Roots.
I've never heard Epitaph, Tonight At Noon, or Jazz Portraits (and... a '71 record called Blue Bird apparently? Never heard of that one before today).
Well, more interesting doesn't necessarily mean better, it's virtually impossible to argue with your list.
Epitaph is a very special chapter of Mingus, definitely deserves a listen- but no more than that 😈 . It's followed by a big what if, but it was supposed to be his magnum opus after all.
Totally forgot about Tonight At Noon 🫢 , I remember liking it quite a bit, there's a decent chance it would have made the cut.
Jazz Portraits is also very good, the band showcases a sloppy, free-roaming side, it's just that sometimes they take jamming too far and it becomes completely aimless - which can be a good thing sometimes, but not here, not for me at least.
No idea about Blue Bird. I've heard of it before, but never got to actually listen to it. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds
His second appearance on this diary, the first one being way back on the very first page with his 1960 album, The Centaur And The Phoenix, which I really liked and ended up as the eighth best album of the year. So, as I wrote back then, that album had two sides, one closer to blues and the other closer to classical music. Here, I'd say he leans more clearly towards the latter. But then again, he always finds the time for a track like Snafu to keep a fine balance. Of course, the defining feature of this record is that he keeps exploring "Eastern" music - you couldn't have it any other way with that title, let's be real. One thing I really like is how these aspects form a cohesive unit with everything else that's going on at the same time, they are never dominant, they are more like delicate finishing touches to an already complete sound. This one's generally held in higher esteem, but once again I fail to vibe with the popular opinion, if you forced me to pick only one, it would probably be The Centaur And The Phoenix. 7/10 _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds
His second appearance on this diary, the first one being way back on the very first page with his 1960 album, The Centaur And The Phoenix, which I really liked and ended up as the eighth best album of the year. So, as I wrote back then, that album had two sides, one closer to blues and the other closer to classical music. Here, I'd say he leans more clearly towards the latter. But then again, he always finds the time for a track like Snafu to keep a fine balance. Of course, the defining feature of this record is that he keeps exploring "Eastern" music - you couldn't have it any other way with that title, let's be real. One thing I really like is how these aspects form a cohesive unit with everything else that's going on at the same time, they are never dominant, they are more like delicate finishing touches to an already complete sound. This one's generally held in higher esteem, but once again I fail to vibe with the popular opinion, if you forced me to pick only one, it would probably be The Centaur And The Phoenix. 7/10
Bill Evans Trio - Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Another artist that should be well known by now, as his 1960 album, Portrait In Jazz, showed up on the second page of this diary - post #16 if anyone missed it and wants to check it out. The lineup is exactly the same, though it was their last time together, as bass player Scott LaFaro sadly lost his life in an automobile accident 10 days after recording this. Most of my remarks concerning Portrait In Jazz apply here as well, no reason to repeat myself. Not sure why this one is rated so much higher, I think they were evenly matched. If you're tired of all the jokes that make fun of the bass as a secondary instrument, this is for you. As I said back then as well, my favourite parts of this album are the ones the bass decides it's time to take over and steal the show - a great example would be Alice In Wonderland, but there are many more. If I had to name one aspect that differentiates it from its predecessor, I'd say their team chemistry has been raised to an even higher level, each of them enjoys his fair share of creative freedom and gets to do his thing, but they all fit nicely together and form a harmonious unit. 7/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
João Gilberto - João Gilberto
Not much differentiates this from his 1960 album, O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor, you can find the relevant comment on the first page of this diary, post #7. Actually, I would consider this slightly inferior. At least the previous one had some memorable moments, this passed me by completely. 5/10.
Django Reinhardt - Djangology
Before commenting on this, shout-out to Hayden who's written a great verse that captures the essence of this record in a highly accurate manner - at least based on my perception of it-, so, I would unreservedly suggest checking that as well, you can find it in his overall chart, spot #13.
Ok, everyone knows - or should know- Django, a legend, a guitar hero. It probably features the best guitar work out of all the albums that have appeared so far in this diary - honourable mention to The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery by Wes Montgomery. So, what makes him stand out? It’s the emotional involvement, there’s no doubt about it. Every single note coming out of his guitar is aimed at evoking a very powerful, almost suffocating feeling. It gets you in a nostalgic mood, but it doesn't relate to something that you experienced at some point in the past, rather it's something that was outside your sphere of awareness until now, like discovering a black and white photo of a relative of yours whose existence you ignored and suddenly having a strong desire to meet him even though he’s gone and there’s nothing you can do. When it comes to highlights, Minor Swing is one of the most recognizable tunes of all time, it never gets old. Also, it’s impossible to ignore the violin, it’s the icing on the cake. 7/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Gil Evans Orchestra - Out Of The Cool
Gil Evans is mostly known for working with Miles Davis, a collaboration that did produce some wonderful pieces of art, for example Porgy and Bess or Sketches of Spain. His discography as a leader is not to be ignored either. Ok, the truth is that this is much harder to get into in comparison to the above records. Not only is it constantly flirting with classical music, making it a highly complex work, at the same time it is as minimal as it gets, despite having a big band at his disposal. This "less is more" approach has rarely worked for me and neither did it here - actually I can't think of anyone who has pulled it off convincingly, bar Talk Talk of course, but let's avoid going completely off-topic. 6.5/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Gil Evans Orchestra - Out Of The Cool
Gil Evans is mostly known for working with Miles Davis, a collaboration that did produce some wonderful pieces of art, for example Porgy and Bess or Sketches of Spain. His discography as a leader is not to be ignored either. Ok, the truth is that this is much harder to get into in comparison to the above records. Not only is it constantly flirting with classical music, making it a highly complex work, at the same time it is as minimal as it gets, despite having a big band at his disposal. This "less is more" approach has rarely worked for me and neither did it here - actually I can't think of anyone who has pulled it off convincingly, bar Talk Talk of course, but let's avoid going completely off-topic. 6.5/10.
It's one of my favourites, I really like how he combined big band jazz and classical/third stream here. La Nevada is particularly great imo. But it's fun to hear a contradictory opinion, and I definitely understand why you didn't like it. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Django Reinhardt - Djangology
Before commenting on this, shout-out to Hayden who's written a great verse that captures the essence of this record in a highly accurate manner - at least based on my perception of it-, so, I would unreservedly suggest checking that as well, you can find it in his overall chart, spot #13.
Thanks Kokkinos.
The entry of Djangology on my chart is more representative of Django's output as a whole, but I think it's still the best compilation of his, and easily the one that plays out the most like an album. The musicianship across the record is insane. Even tracks that sound as effortless as Beyond The Sea (La Mer) and Honeysuckle Rose have some complex twists on the theory. The fact he could run the scales on Minor Swing with two fingers borders witchcraft. Bricktop too.
I think the sound Quintette du Hot Club du France (and the members) made at the time is irreplaceable, and (ultimately) unrivalled. Nobody can be Django again in the same sense nobody can be Bowie again, Dylan, Armstrong, Waits, Holiday, Hendrix, Buddy Rich, MF DOOM. Even within as wide as the genre spans, gypsy jazz is his. No point in fighting a mountain.
(If you can give the 1h+ extended edition a spin, I'd rec it. It's a more the merrier sorta thing).
Fun fact, I can play about the first 16 bars of Swing 42 before absolutely flatlining. 😁 _________________ Doubles & Conch
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