Album Reviews

Frank Zappa acknowledges the influence of Edgar Varése, Igor Stravinsky and other modern classical composers in much of his music but did he ever mention Charles Mingus? Not that I can recall having read (save for the oblique reference in the title of the composition “Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue”), but it’s impossible to not draw the connection when the sextet slinks its way into the staccato twists and turns of the raucous, mocking, angry and mostly exasperated and distraught half hour version of “Fables of Faubus,” found on this epic but until recently unknown March 18th, 1964 Cornell University concert.

If you’re a Zappa fan familiar with the carefully choreographed horn honks and squawks sprinkled throughout the repertoire and you know nothing of Mingus, “Fables of Faubus” (Orville Faubus was the Governor of Arkansas who fought court ordered integration during the 1950’s) will astonish you.

As annotator Gary Giddins points out, the concert took place at a pivotal time in Mingus’s history, yet it wasn’t known about until the accidental recent discovery of the tape in a mis-marked box by Mingus’s widow Sue.

The discovery literally requires a re-writing of musical history, but more importantly pre-dates a series of famous recordings including the April 4th Town Hall Concert that is considered one of Mingus’s greatest live recordings, and after a long European tour, the appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival with a new grouping, both of which were originally issued on Mingus’s own label.

Giddins lays out the historical significance of this concert in his notes, of how this show came after a two month engagement at New York’s Five Spot where the sextet of Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Coles and his long time rhythm section cohorts Dannie Richmond on drums and Jaki Bayard on piano had originated, and where the group worked out the repertoire it played throughout the European tour.

If you’re a Mingus fan and own a recording of the famous Town Hall concert you can test Giddins’s contention that this earlier set is a far better performance of mostly the same material, but what’s not in doubt is the far superior sound of this monophonic recording, probably taped at Cornell’s Bailey Hall using gear Mingus himself brought to gigs. I can attest to the small hall’s superb acoustics, having seen many great concerts there during my Cornell years. Unfortunately I arrived in September of 1964, six months too late to have attended this concert.

It’s a mystery to me how no one who was there back in 1964 failed to correct the history long before the appearance of the tape.

Don’t expect audiophile quality sound but do expect great overall clarity, harmonic integrity and a nice balance of close-miked intimacy and hall sound, though the drums are sometimes distant (but with pleasing natural reverb attached), plus decent dynamics.

At the conclusion of "Orange Was the Colour of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk" you'll hear a dog bark. No mystery there: a woman who left the university alot of money insisted that dogs have the run of the campus including inside the buildings. One lucky dog got to here Mingus!

Mingus’s bass playing is dazzling and inspired and the musical puns and references to other tunes from him and the others leap from the stage like comedic one liners. Dolphy, who would leave the group (and pass away) shortly thereafter, is a powerful force, as is Clifford Jordan on tenor sax. There's an elegant rendition of Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," and a joyful version of Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train" along with a mournful "So Long Eric" and the debut of "Meditation," one of Mingus's most important compositions.

Like the recent discoveries of Monk and Coltrane at Carnegie Hall and Coltrane at The Five Spot, this recording of a sextet that never found its way into a recording studio is a treasure every fan will want to have. It’s also a great introduction to Mingus and to jazz in general for rock fans wanting a way into jazz.

Sadly, this will be one of the last discs mastered at Sony Studios, because the bozos in charge of the assets are closing it down this month (August, 2007). Another legendary production facility closes and with it another chapter in the long, agonizing decline of the recording arts closes.