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40 years ago


Gheorghe

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I´t not an album I´d recommend since it´s far from being Mingu´s best one, but remember, Mingus made his last studio recordings on November 6th 1977, so that´s forty years ago.

The title is "Lionel Hampton presents Charles Mingus" or sometimes it´s titled "Last Date" or "Just for Laughs".

Man, time flies, remember he was part of all the festival schedules in the 70´s and was scheduled for a promoting tour with Larry Coryell for late 77 but had to chancle it.

This album, I don´t know how they persuaded Mingus to do it, he was much more into large format stuff as Cumbia, Three or Four Shades, Three Worlds of Drums.

It´s his touring band with Walrath, Ford, Neloms and Danny , but too many others and not really fine arrangements.

You can say about Hampton what you want and that his vibe doesn´t really fit into Mingus´ music, but it´s astonishing that he, quite an old and very busy man found the time to learn the quite unusual structures of Mingus´ compositions and could solo on them.

But just today it´s worth to be listened.

Anyway it has the first versions of Mingus´ last ballads "Farewell Farwell" and "Keki Mingus", he would record him a few months later but at that time he didn´t play the bass anymore.....

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9 hours ago, JSngry said:

This was part of a whole series of albums Hamp did, Mingus was just one. All of them I've heard have been very good or better!

We have that long "wish Mosaic would do thread," but all of the Hampton Presents albums on Who's Who would make a nice box.

 

 

gregmo

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Not all (or many) are "essential, but I've not heard any that were not pretty good. And some, like the Hines & Doggett, are better than that.  Plus, I think there might have been some spare takes on some sessions that were juggled around on the CD iterations (of which for some items there have been many).

They all kinda showed up at once, and between Hamp's "low budget" rep of the time and the notion that how the fuck is he getting Mingus & Dexter and people with contracts to make these records on the legit, I kinda blew them off until curiosity get the better of me and I bit on the Mingus. Definitely not "high budget production" but the playing on all of them is for real.

So yeah, a "round-em-up" legit package from somebody would be nice. I'm sure there's a few or more stories to be told....

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Am I missing any?

 

Check it out:

 

And ok, Rhodes. Big fucking deal. This is Lionel Hampton, who most assiduously did not give a fuck about trivial shit like that. And hello, Bubba
Brooks!

Shit be swingin', verb not noun...

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Thank you for posting the other "Lionel Hampton presents.....".

Yeah, I think that´s how it sounded, just as if there was a hurry up, and not much studio time.

But I have listened more intensly to the Mingus album yesterday and once again I must say I couldn´t believe how Hampton, a tough businessman and besides that from another generation, found the time and the effort to solo on all those Mingus compositions. Well, "So long Eric" is just a blues in F, but "Remember Rockefeller", "Fables", "Slop" and others, you can´t just take your mallets and play a chorus on it, it takes time to know the form, and I never was aware of that musical side of Hampton.

I never heard the others, I would purchase the Dexter, the Mulligan, the Woody Herman and so. I´ve read somewhere it´s not really the best of Dexters albums. On the other hand, like Mingus, Dexter had started to become better known when playing with Hamp. Saw Dexter once on a kind of Hampton Alumni set, something with Arnett Cobb, a more old fashioned drummer and a very very old Gene Ramey on bass.

Yes, make a wishlist for Mosaic, would be a nice idea.

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On 6.11.2017 at 10:16 PM, JSngry said:

Not all (or many) are "essential, but I've not heard any that were not pretty good. And some, like the Hines & Doggett, are better than that.  Plus, I think there might have been some spare takes on some sessions that were juggled around on the CD iterations (of which for some items there have been many).

They all kinda showed up at once, and between Hamp's "low budget" rep of the time and the notion that how the fuck is he getting Mingus & Dexter and people with contracts to make these records on the legit, I kinda blew them off until curiosity get the better of me and I bit on the Mingus. Definitely not "high budget production" but the playing on all of them is for real.

I became aware of this "Presents" series back in 1977/78 when they hit the market. A jazz radio broadcast I caught discussed this newly-released series of LPs and played excerpts from several, the radio man wondering how it came to be that this was all about "presenting" such confirmed stars from decades past, with the career of Lionel Hampton in some cases only slightly preceding that of some of those featured. Wouldn't a "Presents" series have been devoted better to up-and-coming young 'uns? So he found the idea of the whole series a bit odd.

A feeling I somehow shared. The music I heard there (I even taped some on cassette) wasn't bad at all but rather mainstream-ish. OK but not adding much substantially new and somehow lacking the "period" edge of the earlier recordings (at least those I had heard by that time) of the featured artists. Later on, in the late 80s I got a copy of the "Presents Gerry Mulligan" LP along with a stack of other jazz LPs that a friend parted with. I listened to it, found my impressions confirmed and put it in my fleamarket box and eventually it got sold.
But who knows ... if I come across copies from that series now at one of those clearout sales I might even have second thoughts ...

 

 

 

 

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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Yeah, I get that, and htat's why I took my time on looking at them. Now that most everybody involved is dead, though, I find some of them to sound pretty good. The Hines & Doggett things are both expoobident, and the Mingus is, at the least, a valuable document for both playing and writing (if you're into that document thing) outside the lines of Atlantic oversight. The Dexter, eh, it doesn't suck, but it's certainly not a collection-starter, if you know what I mean.

One good thing about a lot of them, though - look closely and you'll see George Duvivier all over the place. From what I've heard of the series, he's usually direct-miked (and get over, old folks, they're not going to remake those records, what's done is done), but whereas that techniques only amplifies (no pun intended) the micro-imperfections of most bassists, Duvivier comes through as impeccable. And you know he's got that groove. And Hamp, Hamps gonna swing, always.

I'm definitely looking at picking up the ones I don't have if/when they come along a a pleasant price. Collection-deepeners! :)

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2 hours ago, JSngry said:

One good thing about a lot of them, though - look closely and you'll see George Duvivier all over the place. From what I've heard of the series, he's usually direct-miked (and get over, old folks, they're not going to remake those records, what's done is done), but whereas that techniques only amplifies (no pun intended) the micro-imperfections of most bassists, Duvivier comes through as impeccable. And you know he's got that groove. And Hamp, Hamps gonna swing, always .....

Duvivier plays in the Mulligan date ( with not a lot of Mulligan on it ?) .... and on which other platter of this series ?

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16 hours ago, JSngry said:

yep. it's easily taken for granted, but that guy, anybody, anytime, any music, he could play the gig like it needed to be played. if it was THAT easy, everybody could and would do it.

I gave in and ordered a copy of the Dexter Gordon for sort of pittance .... just to hear more George Duvivier ;) ....

Edited by soulpope
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