CHARLES MINGUS’ LATE-‘70s MASTERY REVEALED ON IN ARGENTINA: THE BUENOS AIRES CONCERTS, A THREE-LP RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE DUE APRIL 12 FROM RESONANCE RECORDS
Bassist-Composer’s Brilliant Working Quintet Heard in First Authorized Release of Two Exciting Live Dates from His 1977 South American Tour, Also Coming as Two-CD Set on April 18
Deluxe Package Includes Detailed Notes from Mingus Biographer Brian Priestley, Recollections of the Concerts from Argentinian Writer Claudio Parisi, New Interviews with Band Members Jack Walrath and Ricky Ford, and More
Charles Mingus’ thrilling, little-heard 1977 quintet finally gets its due on the revelatory In Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts, to be released on April 12 as a limited edition three-LP Record Store Day exclusive from Resonance Records.
The collection, which succeeds Resonance’s first Mingus release The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s (2022), will also be issued as a two-CD set on April 18. Like its predecessor, it is being released with the full cooperation and authorization of the Jazz Workshop, Inc. and the Charles Mingus Estate. The 180-gram vinyl set has been transferred from the original tape reels recorded by engineer Carlos Melero, mastered by Matthew Lutthans at the Mastering Lab, and pressed at Le Vinylist.
Recorded in concert at the Teatro Coliseo and the Teatro Sociedad Hebraica Argentina (SHA) on June 2-3, 1977, In Argentina affords a revealing look at the great composer-bassist’s little-documented working band of the era. He is joined by trumpeter Jack Walrath, a veteran of the storied “Changes band” of the mid-‘70s that included tenor saxophonist George Adams and pianist Don Pullen; their gifted successors, tenorist Ricky Ford and pianist Robert Neloms; and the leader’s long-tenured drummer Dannie Richmond. The shows took place only six months before Mingus was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), which claimed him on Jan. 5, 1979.
Exhorted vocally by Mingus, the spirited combo bracingly essayed material ranging from classic compositions like “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “Fables of Faubus” to such expansive latter-day compositions as “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love,” “Three or Four Shades of Blue,” and the aptly Latin-infused “Cumbia and Jazz Fusion.” Mingus also stepped to the piano for a pair of short solo performances.
In Argentina’s deluxe packaging includes a thoughtful new essay by Brian Priestley, author of the pioneering work Mingus: A Critical Biography (1983); a detailed and intimate look at the Buenos Aires concerts by Claudio Parisi, excerpted from his 2014 book Grandes del jazz internacional en Argentina (1956-1979); new interviews with Walrath and Ford; and photographs by Uberto Sagramoso and Tito Villalba.
© Uberto Sagramoso
Ricky Ford, Jack Walrath, Bob Neloms and Charles Mingus performing at the Teatro Coliseo on June 2, 1977 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo by Uberto Sagramoso.
Producer and Resonance co-president Zev Feldman says, “Regardless of the era, Mingus always found a way to surround himself with incredible musicians. I'm a fan of this group in particular. I became familiar with it in my early 20s when I discovered the Dannie Richmond album The Last Mingus Band A.D., issued on the Landmark label in 1980. That album featured the same band as the one on this set, except that for on that album, Cameron Brown played bass. The band had an amazing energy and simpatico, and they just sounded terrific. In fact, there was such an undeniable chemistry in this band that they would continue to perform with Brown in the bass chair for years after.”
In his essay, Priestley notes that the group Mingus brought with him to Buenos Aires has been if not completely unsung, at least less acknowledged and appreciated than it should have been.
In his essay, Priestley notes that the group Mingus brought with him to Buenos Aires has been if not completely unsung, at least less acknowledged and appreciated than it should have been.
“What has been written about Mingus's continuing performances with his regular quintet mainly consists of brief comments in live reviews,” he says. “The exception, of course, is the contribution of Argentinian writer Claudio Parisi, whose reactions are featured elsewhere in this booklet — here translated from the original Spanish to English. But the majority of the coverage that Mingus received at the time, apart from comments on his aforementioned album, contained somewhat mixed enthusiasm for his current group.
“Of course, it hasn't helped the long-term reputation of the 1977 band that almost nothing of its work has been preserved. A couple of limited-edition bootlegs of live gigs came and went, but all the contemporary studio recordings were performed by larger ensembles, of which Three or Four Shades of Blues was the most modestly sized. So the present album is actually the first to be issued legitimately, with the cooperation of the Mingus estate, of his quintet as it was constituted in 1977.”
Parisi, who attended the Buenos Aires shows, notes, “Unfortunately, by and large, the local music press did not treat Mingus to the type of welcome one would expect should befit such an important figure of the jazz pantheon. Consequently, Mingus's appearance in Buenos Aires was not well-attended. It was rock publications such as Pelo and Expreso Imaginario that placed more importance than the standard press on the arrival of this musical giant and documented the details of the concert with commensurate respect in their reviews.
“Of course, it hasn't helped the long-term reputation of the 1977 band that almost nothing of its work has been preserved. A couple of limited-edition bootlegs of live gigs came and went, but all the contemporary studio recordings were performed by larger ensembles, of which Three or Four Shades of Blues was the most modestly sized. So the present album is actually the first to be issued legitimately, with the cooperation of the Mingus estate, of his quintet as it was constituted in 1977.”
Parisi, who attended the Buenos Aires shows, notes, “Unfortunately, by and large, the local music press did not treat Mingus to the type of welcome one would expect should befit such an important figure of the jazz pantheon. Consequently, Mingus's appearance in Buenos Aires was not well-attended. It was rock publications such as Pelo and Expreso Imaginario that placed more importance than the standard press on the arrival of this musical giant and documented the details of the concert with commensurate respect in their reviews.
“According to the annual supplement of the magazine Pelo, published in December 1977, ‘Among the most important musical events of the year, the arrival of Mingus stood out as “The Visit of the Year” because, even without the necessary publicity to ensure an audience, he infused his music with virtuosity and great harmonic adventure, without losing an iota of the joy of making music.’”
For their part, the musicians who participated on the tour remember the South American trek fondly, both in terms of the response and the caliber of the music.
“The audiences on the tour always loved us,” Walrath recalls. “I think it was arguably the best band of the time. In Argentina, they went crazy. They loved it. We reached all different kinds of people and it was great.”
“It’s fantastic to hear this music now after all these years,” says Ford. “Now, no one will be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, well, the best thing was ’64 Antibes,’ or ‘[T]he greatest thing was Changes One and Changes Two.’ Now people are going to have another final stamp about the Charles Mingus band and how he had a really strong consistency in his musical expression, even late in his life.”
Resonance Records is a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning label (most recently for John Coltrane’s Offering: Live at Temple University for "Best Album Notes") that prides itself in creating beautifully designed, informative packaging to accompany previously unreleased recordings by the jazz icons who grace Resonance's catalog. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of Rising Jazz Stars, Inc. a California 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation created to discover the next jazz stars and advance the cause of jazz. Current Resonance Artists include Tawanda, Eddie Daniels, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes and Donald Vega. www.ResonanceRecords.org
For their part, the musicians who participated on the tour remember the South American trek fondly, both in terms of the response and the caliber of the music.
“The audiences on the tour always loved us,” Walrath recalls. “I think it was arguably the best band of the time. In Argentina, they went crazy. They loved it. We reached all different kinds of people and it was great.”
“It’s fantastic to hear this music now after all these years,” says Ford. “Now, no one will be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, well, the best thing was ’64 Antibes,’ or ‘[T]he greatest thing was Changes One and Changes Two.’ Now people are going to have another final stamp about the Charles Mingus band and how he had a really strong consistency in his musical expression, even late in his life.”
Resonance Records is a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning label (most recently for John Coltrane’s Offering: Live at Temple University for "Best Album Notes") that prides itself in creating beautifully designed, informative packaging to accompany previously unreleased recordings by the jazz icons who grace Resonance's catalog. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of Rising Jazz Stars, Inc. a California 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation created to discover the next jazz stars and advance the cause of jazz. Current Resonance Artists include Tawanda, Eddie Daniels, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes and Donald Vega. www.ResonanceRecords.org
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