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Vincent Pelote
GARY A GALO(EDITOR)
Uptown UPCD 27.48 .
Mingus was an extraordinary bassist and one of jazz's premier composers and arrangers. His untimely death (at the age of fifty-six) from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Charles Disease) deprived the jazz world of one of its most colorful and brilliant figures. He left behind an impressive legacy of recordings including those made for his own short-lived label, Debut. Of all the CDs that have come out since his death in 1979, this release on Uptown is, without a doubt, one of the most important for fans of the multi-talented Mingus. It documents his earliest recordings for a number of small independent West Coast labels from 1945 to 1949. The groups were all led by Mingus (and issued often under the name ''Baron Mingus''). He also composed most of the material and arranged all but one title ( Bedspread was arranged by Buddy Collette). The labels -- Excelsior, Four Star, Dolphins of Hollywood, Fentone, and Rex Hollywood -- were all based on the West Coast, and their recordings had a very limited distribution. Prior to this CD there was an Italian LP that contained four of the sides, but with this release twenty-three titles (plus a private home recording) are presented on one disc for the first time.
The very earliest session (fall 1945) was recorded for Excelsior and four tunes were issued as by the ''Charles Mingus Sextet''. It is an excellent first studio outing for the bassist that produced a jump tune with a vocal ( Texas Hop ), a vocal ballad ( Baby, Take a Chance With Me ), a vocal blues ( Lonesome Woman Blues ), and a boppish instrumental ( Swingin' an Echo ). The last tune is the best of the date. It was written and arranged by Mingus and contains his longest solo. The vocalists, Oradell Mitchell ( Texas Hop and Lonesome Woman Blues ) and Everett Pettis ( Baby, Take a Chance on Me ), are pleasant, but nothing special. Tenor saxophonists William ''Brother'' Woodman (brother of trombonist Britt Woodman) and Maxwell...