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The Great Concert of Charles Mingus


skeith

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It's in the new release section of NYC cd stores this week. Is this the same thing as what I have called "Meditation" on the France's Concert label?

THis new release is on Verve from its french company and has an original cover (which I vaguely recognize and thought I had on lp and for some reason thought it was on Candid or Prestige) It is remastered and has extra tracks previously unreleased. Looks tasty.

Anyone know the details

Edited by skeith
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this came out some time ago as a 2CD digipac, released by Universal France. The packaging is beautiful and the liners extensive. Sound is pretty good and two tunes, ArtTatumFatsWaller and Goodbye Eric that were originally left off due to bad sound quality, are included. Apparantly, the folks who worked on this issue managed to work with the tapes and produce something decent. This is some 26 minutes of music!

I haven't had time yet to really sit down with this music. I will do so pronto, thanks for the impulse!

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from this site:

Charles Mingus

The Great Concert Of Charles Mingus

(P) 2003 Universal Music S.A.S. France

Universal 980 691 - 3

(P) 2004 [July 20] Verve

Verve #B000268002 (catalogue number copied from Verve website)

2 Compact Discs 

Tracks

Disc 1

A.T.F.W. (Art Tatum Fats Waller) (4:17)

Presentation Of Musicians: Johnny Coles' Trumpet (1:08)

So Long Eric (Don't Stay Over There Too Long) (21:47)

Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress Then Blue Silk (14:29)

Fables Of Faubus (27:46)

Disc 2

Sophisticated Lady (7:55) (Duke Ellington)

Parkeriana (Dedicated To A Genius) (27:04)

Meditation For Integration (Or For A Pair Of Wire Cutters) (22:45)

All compositions by Charles Mingus unless otherwise noted

Personnel

Eric Dolphy - alto sax, flute, bass clarinet

Clifford Jordan - tenor sax

Jaki Byard - piano

Charles Mingus - bass

Dannie Richmond - drums

Information

Date and location

April 19, 1964 (from Sunday 0.10 a.m. to 2.45 a.m.), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, France

Original release

America 003/4/5 (except ATFW and So Long Eric)

Comments

This is a new authorized edition of this concert, with previously unreleased "ATFW" (Jaki Byard's piano solo) and complete "So Long Eric" which was previously a combination of two different performances.

According to Johan Hauknes, the initial German Universal M&L pressings (production series 51466262 (cd 1) and 51466256 (cd 2)) of this set have digital noise on tracks 2 and 3 of the disc 2. On the other hand, the French series made by Cinram Optical Discs seem to be without errors.

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Yes, it was out on Musique Disc France two cd set earlier than the digipak, without the newly issued material and with a track with Coles NOT from the concert originally I believe.

CDUniverse has this item for 14 dollars! I just ordered a copy and preordered the three Duke Ellingtons coming out next week!

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Prestige leased it from a label that is now part of the Universal umbrella is my guess.

This is one of the best of the 1964 European tour concerts, and it is in really good sound overall so this reissue should sound fantastic. . . . I love this tour for the performances of the entire group: Coles was great til he took ill, Dolphy and Jordan were individually and collectively great, Byard was really ON IT the whole time, Mingus was in charge and HAPPY, Danny was the backbone as always.

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when was this on Prestige and in what form? I thought this was originally a 3LP set on the America label.

BTW:this was released on Emarcy/Universal France (not Verve).

Yes, my version of the 3LP set is on the America label. The inner gatefold has the Dolphy picture as in JS's version (on the right though) and the left and middle are different (liner notes only in French/English/German by looks of it). The Dolphy 3LP set was also put out on the America label, again similar format.

After all these years that Dolphy solo on 'Fables' still raises the hair on the neck. Would have loved to have witnessed that performance in person !

Some of those America LPs were pretty damned interesting. Just wish that I'd picked up the Clifford Thornton 'The Panther and the Lash' when it was around...

Edited by sidewinder
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Yes, that 3LP on the French label America was the original release of The Great Concert.

America published quite anumber of other interesting LPs including two more by Mingus 'Blue Bird' and 'Pithycanthropus Erecuts' with the 1970 Mingus group that had Eddie Preston, Charles McPherson, Bobby Jones, Jaki Byard and Danny Richmond. These two came out in the USA on a Prestige twofer 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird'.

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Yes, that 3LP on the French label America was the original release of The Great Concert.

America published quite anumber of other interesting LPs including two more by Mingus 'Blue Bird' and 'Pithycanthropus Erecuts' with the 1970 Mingus group that had Eddie Preston, Charles McPherson, Bobby Jones, Jaki Byard and Danny Richmond. These two came out in the USA on a Prestige twofer 'Reincarnation of a Lovebird'.

Those two from 1970 are great recordings--mostly Mingus classics (was Mingus not composing at this time?)--Reincarnation of a Lovebird, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Peggy's Blue Skylight...

The only CD reissue I've ever seen is terrible.

And those Dolphy and Mingus solos from Fables of Faubus on The Great Concert could qualify as my favorites of them all.

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Well now that I am looking at my France's Concert disc called "Meditation", I am not sure there is any overlap at all.

First my disc says the recording date is April 18, 1964. It has some of the same tracks as the Great Concert , but the times are several minutes off.

Also mine has "Peggy's Blue Skylight" on it and Great Concert doesn't.

The location listed on my disc is Salle Wagram which is also different.

So is it possible my disc is actually a different concert recorded the day before?

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First my disc says the recording date is April 18, 1964. It has some of the same tracks as the Great Concert , but the times are several minutes off.So is it possible my disc is actually a different concert recorded the day before?

The recording was made in the night from 18 to 19. There were technical problems and the actual recording only started after midnight, hence the new reissue lists 19 April.

the Salle Wagram is where the previous night's recording - that yielded the version of So Long Eric included on the original release - was made.

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First my disc says the recording date is April 18, 1964.  It has some of the same tracks as the Great Concert , but the times are several minutes off.So is it possible my disc is actually a different concert recorded the day before?

The recording was made in the night from 18 to 19. There were technical problems and the actual recording only started after midnight, hence the new reissue lists 19 April.

the Salle Wagram is where the previous night's recording - that yielded the version of So Long Eric included on the original release - was made.

To recap. There were two concerts by Charles Mingus and his group in Paris that weekend. I attended both.

First one was at the Salle Wagram on Friday April 17, 1964. That's the concert where Johnny Coles collapsed and had to be rushed to the American Hospital.

Second concert was scheduled on Saturday April 18 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. But the musicians came in late and the concert started after midnight which is why the correct (and agreed upon) date of the concert is Sunday, April 19.

The music on the current 2CD reissue is from that concert.

The original 3LP album which originally came out on America (later on Prestige) incorporated sections from A.T.F.W. and So Long Eric - the two opening numbers - from the Salle Wagram concert because the technician from the French radio ORTF in charge of recording the Theatre des Champs-Elysees ran into problems with some of the microphones.

The tapes of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees concert were restored for the new CD issue.

If you have the 3LP album keep that one. It has music by that fantastic group which has not been reissued since, as far as I know.

An aside, it you have seen Bernardo Bertolucci's film 'Last Tango in Paris', the long tango competition sequence where Marlon Brando (and Maria Schneider) go wild was shot at the Salle Wagram. The Salle Wagram has been used for various recording sessions by diverse performers ranging from Maria Callas to Duke Ellington (The Symphonic Ellington).

Edited by brownie
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