Teasing the Korean

Mingus Moves (Atlantic, stereo)

I confess, I don't have Changes 1 or 2, but I really love this record. I recognize enough "Mingusisms" on here, but it also gels on its own terms.

Bumping this old topic. I'm spinning this one for the first time in ages, maybe in 10 years, and I'm totally digging it. I tend to listen to earlier Mingus in general. This has some really nice compositions on it.

Joe Morello - It's About Time - LSP 2486 - "Spectacular Drums!" From 1962, this must be one of the final instances of RCA using these phrases.

Art Pepper - Smack Up! - Contemporary (stereo, OJC reissue) Joe Morello - It's About Time - RCA (stereo), with Phil Woods, Gary Burton, and Manny Albam.

Yes, but they do not list the dates of the recordings by other artists. I appreciate your help, though!

Thanks. I thought that the Tjader version was one of the early versions, but didn't know if there were any earlier. Interestingly, when I have played this tune with Latino rhythm sections, they don't feel that the song grooves, because of where the chords land rhythmically.

Thanks, but unfortunately that does not help. It indicates the earliest recording by Ray Bryant (1956), but does not indicate the years that other artists recorded the song. I assume that it pre-dates 1956?

Does anyone know when Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" was first recorded?

I am more concerned with music than I am with the genre it fits into.

From what I've read, and from what my gut tells me, Mingus looked at records like Tijuana Moods, Mingus Ah Um and Dynasty as albums. I think he went into those sessions deliberately recording more than he would use, and choosing the best parts. I am happy to have the expanded releases of these albums, but they are complements to the original releases, and not replacements, for me at least.

Edits made so a recording can fit a format are one thing. Deliberately recording more music than you plan to use is quite another.

Agree about the claustrophobic feeling on "Rooms." I have the "Torn Curtain" LP also, conducted by Elmer Bernstein. I have "Obsession" on LP. When the two competing CD versions came out at the same time, I sprung for the re-recording, being that I already had Herrmann's version on LP.

The first album that popped into my head was the Bob Brookmeyer album with Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, etc.

What a jerk. Phil Ramone was the engineer on many of those Creed Taylor sessions. I'm sure it was his idea to use Phil Woods. sgcim, I know you are a fan of Bernard Herrmann. Had you heard that Hopkins was considered for Torn Curtain after Hitchcock fired Herrmann?

Interesting story: In the 1990s, way back in the early days of the interwebz, my wife posted on something called the "Exotica Mailing List." It included discussion of exotica, 60s-70s soundtracks, space-age bachelor pad music, etc. Anyway, there was discussion of Kenyon Hopkins at one point, and one of the participants suggested that Hopkins' ABC-Paramount albums were released under Creed Taylor's name because Taylor bankrolled the sessions. Someone on the list apparently knew Creed Taylor, and Creed Taylor responded with a statement saying that the only reason the albums came out under his (Taylor's) name was because Hopkins was contracted to Capitol at the time.

Maybe, or maybe one of the musicians recommended him when one of the usual suspects wasn't available.

Thanks all. I had forgotten that Mingus went back to Columbia briefly during the label's second fling with jazz. Not to hijack my own thread, but the jazz one-offs on Columbia over the years are also interesting. Do you think some of these were made on spec, and when they tanked, the artists were not invited back?

I read that Gerry Mulligan included Johnny Mandel's "I Want To Live," which Mulligan played on the soundtrack, in his sets for many years. Is there any evidence that Phil Woods ever played "The Hustler" at his gigs?

Actually, the usual soundtrack crew in the US was on the West Coast, and Hopkins seemed to prefer recording with East Coast cats. I have all of those. Rooms is indeed different, but you an certainly hear some of his devices in that one. Have you ever heard the albums he arranged for Joe Bushkin on Capitol? I never have.

I watched The Hustler for the first time in ages recently, and was reminded at how good the film was, and also how effective Kenyon Hopkins' score is in that context. This prompted me to pull out the Intrada CD again. I don't know what it is about this album, but every time I spin it, I want to play it about 4 or 5 more times in a row. Aside from Hopkins' music being so good on its own terms, his dramatic instincts are also spot-on. (Check out the track "Contract with Depravity.") I love how the main theme uses ever-ascending intervals of thirds. When he hits the 11th in the first half, it is natural, and in the second half when the theme repeats, the 11th is sharp. It is a perfect melody for Paul Newman's character, expressing drive and optimism, but also sadness and poignancy. It's like a theme for a fighter who keeps getting up every time he's knocked down. I'm surprised that Hopkins was not hired for higher-profile films after this. Prior to The Hustler, he had scored some Tennessee Williams adaptations, and was recording mood music albums for Capitol and ABC-Parmount. After The Hustler, it was primarily B-films and TV shows. Interestingly, Hopkins was apparently considered for Torn Curtain after Hitchcock fired Bernard Herrmann. Kenyon Hopkins is a mysterious figure. No one seems to know much about him, and the info I've found on the interwebz is minimal.

Does anyone know the answer to this? I realize that lots of jazz guys did one-offs or something similar for the label, but considering that Miles, Monk, and Brubeck stuck in for the long haul, why not Mingus? Were those two albums as celebrated at the time as they have been in retrospect? How did they sell, for jazz albums? Was it Mingus's idea to leave, or Columbia's?

He signed so many great artists - Sinatra, Nat, Peggy Lee, Stan Kenton, Duke.

Black Gold.

Nina Simone's live album on RCA must be one of the worst recorded concerts ever issued by a major label. It sounds it was recorded from the balcony on a Panasonic cassette recorder. How did this get released?