Blues and Roots

Artist: Charles Mingus
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 075678133626
EAN: 0075678133626
ASIN: B000002I4Q

Release Date: 1990-10-25

Related Categories:

Avant Garde & Free Jazz

| Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop General

| Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop

| Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Best Albums of 1960
The All Time Top Albums (576-600)
favorite jazz albums
Listen to Mingus
Focus: Double Bass (By Twos, Ones..and Mingus!)
My Favorite Jazz albums
Ten essential jazz albums
music for moments of ...
More CDs I bought in 2004
Avant-Garde Jazz

Tracks:

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
Cryin' Blues
Moanin'
Tensions
My Jelly Roll Soul
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too

Similar Items:

Mingus Ah Um
The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady
Pithecanthropus Erectus
Oh Yeah
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Customer Reviews:

I should like this more..........2007-03-14

Okay, I like my Mingus bluesy and rootsy. So why isn't this one of my favorite Mingus albums? To be honest, I'm not quite sure. But I only see two of these compositions as particularly revealing or brilliant: the gutbucket gospel/blues Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (which even then is better heard on At Antibes, in my mind Mingus' finest work) and the characteristically wild E's Flat Ah's Flat Too. On the other hand, My Jelly Roll Soul and Cryin' Blues are two of the least interesting Mingus compositions of all time, with little by way of creativity, fine performances or weird melodies that I associate with Mingus.
Perhaps it was just because he didn't really perfect the bluesy approach until the Oh Yeah/Ah Um period, which was still a couple years away at this point (in 1959, Mingus was still steeped in the avant-garde - this was the time of The Clown and Pithecanthropus Erectus, two far surperior albums, after all). Regardless, I see this as a mere footnote in the Mingus catalogue, rather than a dominant presence.

Moanin'.......2006-08-13

This is one of the all-time great Mingus albums, recorded around the same time as the better-known Mingus Ah Um. There's enough of a similarity between them that fans of one will almost certainly like the other, but they each have a different focus. Ah Um is a great introduction to Mingus's scope as a composer; Blues & Roots is more narrow, focusing on grittier material influenced by gospel and the blues. Blues & Roots also has a slightly larger ensemble than Ah Um, with two trombones and four saxophones present on each track.

"Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" starts things off. Though quite similar to "You'd Better Git It in Your Soul", its melody is more simple. However, the ensemble playing is white hot and Booker Ervin takes another one of his "sermon" solos over handclaps. "Cryin' Blues" is the shortest track and features intense playing by Jackie McLean. "Moanin'", my personal favorite on the album, begins with a naaaaaaaasty baritone riff by Pepper Adams that slowly expands into raucous collective improvisation by the group. "Tensions" is a similar tune, though at a slightly lower temperature. "My Jelly Roll Soul" is almost exactly the same tune as "Jelly Roll" from Ah Um. "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too" (recorded elsewhere as "Hora Decubitus") closes the album with a blistering, swinging ride.

The strength of the album, besides the memorable riff-based compositions, is the blending of collective improvisation with strong solo performances. Ervin, McLean, Adams, John Handy, Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis are the perfect frontline for this kind of mix, and Mingus is just the right "conductor" to kick things along. If you like Mingus, or are merely curious about his music, Blues & Roots is essential listening.

(One caveat: the sound on this deluxe edition, as on most Atlantic jazz albums from this period, is terrible.)

If this doesn't move you, you can't be moved.......2006-05-16

Click on "listen" next to "Moanin" above. That's all you need to do.

The first time I heard Mingus wail in the background of that song, my heart sprang up out my throat. I haven't seen it since.

Now try "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting."

While you're at it, you might as well check out the rest, but keep in mind that these songs have twists and turns that can only be experienced when you hear the entire song. You might as well just buy the CD. You can thank me later.

moaning with pleasure .......2005-09-21

Moanin' with pleasure. Mingus did not make this record to prove something. He had nothing to prove. He was a monster. His music is rich, full of surprises. A masterpiece. Everything has been written about it. Listen. It's as important as Giant Steps by J.Coltrane, Kind Of Blue by Miles, Sunday at village vanguard by bill evans. I love all mingus albums. Along with his atlantic recordings, listen to his 1959 columbia sessions (ah um and dynasty), and chiefly Tijuana moods which is perhaps my favorite.

Mingus shows he can swing........2005-07-22

"Blues & Roots" was Charles Mingus' response to critics that his recent albums didn't swing. The album, hearkening back to older sounds-- swing, dixieland, blues and gospel, is an interesting record as it sets the stage for Mingus' brilliant Columbia output, but as a whole, I find it less rewarding than either the earlier Atlantic albums or the later Columbia records.

The album finds Mingus working with an odd nonet-- four reeds (John Handy and Jackie McLean on alto sax, Booker Ervin on tenor and Pepper Adams on baritone), two trombones (Willie Dennis and Jimmy Knepper), and rhythm (either Horlace Parlon or Mal Waldron on piano, Dannie Richmond on drums, and the leader on bass).

One definite thing that can be said for this album, it covers a lot of ground, from gospel ("Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", which is basically "Better Get Hit In Your Soul" without the theme, "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"), the blues ("Cryin' Blues", "Moanin'"), dixie ("My Jelly Roll Soul") and one thats just sort of odd ("Tensions"). Probably most notable is that Mingus is smoking throughout, his playing is nothing short of jawdropping on "Tensions" and "E's Flat...". And certainly "My Jelly Roll Soul" is one of those pieces that deserves more attention, with a great theme stated first by bari and then by the horns, and eventually a monster trombone solo.

Still, its not one of those records I find myself reaching for frequently (a friend of mine loves this record and I'm sure if he reads this, he'll be calling me to tell me I'm crazy). Similar sounds and themes were explored to greater effect on "Mingus Ah Um", I'd recommend that album over this one. On the other hand, if you've got a hankering for more rootsy Mingus, this is a good place to look, although I'd check out the "Deluxe Edition", augmented by four alternate takes.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Snypaz ~ Snypaz

Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits ~ Carly Simon

Classic Roy Orbison/Cry Softly, Lonely One ~ Roy Orbison

Wellwater Conspiracy ~ Wellwater Conspiracy

Keep on Truckin ~ Caustic Resin

Roy Rogers Meets Albert Einstein

On Your Side ~ Magnet

1972 ~ Various Artists

The Art of Pimpin' ~ Various Artists

Freestyle Fellowship "Shackadoom" CD