Mingus Big Band

[David Ayers]

Going to hear them at Ronnie's at the end of the month. Any recent reports?

[robviti]

i have seen them several times in three different venues over the years, the most recent being at the newport jazz festival in august. i have never been disappointed. enjoy!

p.s.: to fully appreciate the mbb, you should memorize the following lyrics:

"Spiderman, Spiderman,

Does whatever a spider can

Spins a web, any size,

Catches thieves just like flies

Look Out!

Here comes the Spiderman.

Is he strong?

Listen bud,

He's got radioactive blood.

Can he swing from a thread

Take a look overhead

Hey, there

There goes the Spiderman."

[cannonball-addict]

What is the current lineup? Anyone know? I know this can be a mammoth band at times and smaller at others. Who are the regulars? Since we don't have many NY people here I will ask over at Jazzcorner as well....

[jazzdaly]

Here's the line up playing in Cork the week before Ronnies

Craig Handy alto sax, flute

Wayne Escoffery tenor sax

John Stubblefield tenor sax

Jaleel Shaw alto sax

Ronnie Cuber sax

Eddie Henderson trumpet

Alex Sipiagin trumpet

Kenny Rampton trumpet

Ku-umba Frank Lacy trombone/vocals

Conrad Herwig trombone

Earl McIntyre bass trombone/tuba

David Kikoski piano

Boris Koslov double bass

Donald Edwards drums

[robviti]

i doubt this lineup is totally accurate. john stubblefield has not been performing with the band for several months as he has been in the hospital battling cancer.

btw, while i was checking the official mingus website for information about stubblefield (there was none), i came across this intersting article written by mingus. i'm going to print it out and put it up next to my cat nica's litter box.

1

First, you must train your cat to use a home-made cardboard litter box, if you have not already done so. (If your box does not have a one-piece bottom, add a cardboard that fits inside, so you have a false bottom that is smooth and strong. This way the box will not become soggy and fall out at the bottom. The grocery store will have extra flat cardboards which you can cut down to fit exactly inside your box.)

Be sure to use torn up newspaper, not kitty litter. Stop using kitty litter. (When the time comes you cannot put sand in a toilet.)

Once your cat is trained to use a cardboard box, start moving the box around the room, towards the bathroom. If the box is in a corner, move it a few feet from the corner, but not very noticeably. If you move it too far, he may go to the bathroom in the original corner. Do it gradually. You've got to get him thinking. Then he will gradually follow the box as you move it to the bathroom. (Important: if you already have it there, move it out of the bathroom, around, and then back. He has to learn to follow it. If it is too close to the toilet, to begin with, he will not follow it up onto the toilet seat when you move it there.) A cat will look for his box. He smells it.

2

Now, as you move the box, also start cutting the brim of the box down, so the sides get lower. Do this gradually.

Finally, you reach the bathroom and, eventually, the toilet itself. Then, one day, prepare to put the box on top of the toilet. At each corner of the box, cut a little slash. You can run string around the box, through these slashes, and tie the box down to the toilet so it will not fall off. Your cat will see it there and jump up to the box, which is now sitting on top of the toilet (with the sides cut down to only an inch or so.)

Don't bug the cat now, don't rush him, because you might throw him off. Just let him relax and go there for awhile-maybe a week or two. Meanwhile, put less and less newspaper inside the box.

3

One day, cut a small hole in the very center of his box, less than an apple-about the size of a plum-and leave some paper in the box around the hole. Right away he will start aiming for the hole and possibly even try to make it bigger. Leave the paper for awhile to absorb the waste. When he jumps up he will not be afraid of the hole because he expects it. At this point you will realize that you have won. The most difficult part is over.

From now on, it is just a matter of time. In fact, once when I was cleaning the box and had removed it from the toilet, my cat jumped up anyway and almost fell in. To avoid this, have a temporary flat cardboard ready with a little hole, and slide it under the toilet lid so he can use it while you are cleaning, in case he wants to come and go, and so he will not fall in and be scared off completely. You might add some newspaper up there too, while you are cleaning, in case your cat is not as smart as Nightlife was.

4

Now cut the box down completely until there is no brim left. Put the flat cardboard, which is left, under the lid of the toilet seat, and pray. Leave a little newspaper, still. He will rake it into the hole anyway, after he goes to the bathroom. Eventually, you can simply get rid of the cardboard altogether. You will see when he has got his balance properly.

Don't be surprised if you hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night. A cat can learn how to do it, spurred on by his instinct to cover up. His main thing is to cover up. If he hits the flush knob accidentally and sees that it cleans the bowl inside, he may remember and do it intentionally.

Also, be sure to turn the toilet paper roll around so that it won't roll down easily if the cat paws it. The cat is apt to roll it into the toilet, again with the intention of covering up- the way he would if there were still kitty litter.

It took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, Nightlife. Most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom. Do it very slowly and don't confuse him. And, remember, once the box is on the toilet, leave it a week or even two. The main thing to remember is not to rush or confuse him.

Good luck. Charles Mingus

Edited October 13, 2004 by jazzshrink

[BFrank]

I saw them last Spring at Fez with Craig Handy, Vincent Herring and Randy Brecker - among others. It was a whole lotta fun. Check it OUT.

[king ubu]

i doubt this lineup is totally accurate. john stubblefield has not been performing with the band for several months as has been in the hospital battling cancer.

btw, while i was checking the official mingus website for information about stubblefield (there was none), i came across this intersting article written by mingus. i'm going to print it out and put it up next to my cat nica's litter box.

1

First, you must train your cat to use a home-made cardboard litter box, if you have not already done so. (If your box does not have a one-piece bottom, add a cardboard that fits inside, so you have a false bottom that is smooth and strong. This way the box will not become soggy and fall out at the bottom. The grocery store will have extra flat cardboards which you can cut down to fit exactly inside your box.)

Be sure to use torn up newspaper, not kitty litter. Stop using kitty litter. (When the time comes you cannot put sand in a toilet.)

Once your cat is trained to use a cardboard box, start moving the box around the room, towards the bathroom. If the box is in a corner, move it a few feet from the corner, but not very noticeably. If you move it too far, he may go to the bathroom in the original corner. Do it gradually. You've got to get him thinking. Then he will gradually follow the box as you move it to the bathroom. (Important: if you already have it there, move it out of the bathroom, around, and then back. He has to learn to follow it. If it is too close to the toilet, to begin with, he will not follow it up onto the toilet seat when you move it there.) A cat will look for his box. He smells it.

2

Now, as you move the box, also start cutting the brim of the box down, so the sides get lower. Do this gradually.

Finally, you reach the bathroom and, eventually, the toilet itself. Then, one day, prepare to put the box on top of the toilet. At each corner of the box, cut a little slash. You can run string around the box, through these slashes, and tie the box down to the toilet so it will not fall off. Your cat will see it there and jump up to the box, which is now sitting on top of the toilet (with the sides cut down to only an inch or so.)

Don't bug the cat now, don't rush him, because you might throw him off. Just let him relax and go there for awhile-maybe a week or two. Meanwhile, put less and less newspaper inside the box.

3

One day, cut a small hole in the very center of his box, less than an apple-about the size of a plum-and leave some paper in the box around the hole. Right away he will start aiming for the hole and possibly even try to make it bigger. Leave the paper for awhile to absorb the waste. When he jumps up he will not be afraid of the hole because he expects it. At this point you will realize that you have won. The most difficult part is over.

From now on, it is just a matter of time. In fact, once when I was cleaning the box and had removed it from the toilet, my cat jumped up anyway and almost fell in. To avoid this, have a temporary flat cardboard ready with a little hole, and slide it under the toilet lid so he can use it while you are cleaning, in case he wants to come and go, and so he will not fall in and be scared off completely. You might add some newspaper up there too, while you are cleaning, in case your cat is not as smart as Nightlife was.

4

Now cut the box down completely until there is no brim left. Put the flat cardboard, which is left, under the lid of the toilet seat, and pray. Leave a little newspaper, still. He will rake it into the hole anyway, after he goes to the bathroom. Eventually, you can simply get rid of the cardboard altogether. You will see when he has got his balance properly.

Don't be surprised if you hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night. A cat can learn how to do it, spurred on by his instinct to cover up. His main thing is to cover up. If he hits the flush knob accidentally and sees that it cleans the bowl inside, he may remember and do it intentionally.

Also, be sure to turn the toilet paper roll around so that it won't roll down easily if the cat paws it. The cat is apt to roll it into the toilet, again with the intention of covering up- the way he would if there were still kitty litter.

It took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, Nightlife. Most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom. Do it very slowly and don't confuse him. And, remember, once the box is on the toilet, leave it a week or even two. The main thing to remember is not to rush or confuse him.

Good luck. Charles Mingus

[king ubu]

David, here's a thread I started about a show I saw/heard in March. Stubblefield was still there, then, but he remained seated while playing and didn't really look all that well.

ubu

[David Ayers]

Jazzdaly - thanks for the line-up and welcome to the board!!!

Ubu - thanks for the link.

[cannonball-addict]

Here's the line up playing in Cork the week before Ronnies

Craig Handy alto sax, flute

Wayne Escoffery tenor sax

John Stubblefield tenor sax

Jaleel Shaw alto sax

Ronnie Cuber sax

Eddie Henderson trumpet

Alex Sipiagin trumpet

Kenny Rampton trumpet

Ku-umba Frank Lacy trombone/vocals

Conrad Herwig trombone

Earl McIntyre bass trombone/tuba

David Kikoski piano

Boris Koslov double bass

Donald Edwards drums

Wow. This lineup is sick. Has anyone heard Escoffery? There is a funny review of his Nagel Heyer CD on AAJ. I don't feel like finding the link right now - but he is good. Good enough to have been a Monk Institute "scholar" at their jazz college thing taught by Herbie Hancock and Terrence Blanchard in LA among others.

Jaleel Shaw - Placed very close to the top in the Monk competition in 1996 (I think tied for fourth). He is talented.

Craig Handy - I love his playing. My current sax teacher sat next to him in the One O'Clock band at North Texas in the 80s and he said Craig was the exception to the rule there - he was one of very few non-Brecker heads but he also said in addition to the fact that he played with a heck of a lot more soul than a lot of the cats there - he was an impeccable reader - which is something UNT looks for in applicants and then refines with their big band program. The only time I ever saw Handy live was in DC in a band being led by Jeff 'Tain' Watts. I wish he got on the road more often - I had the impression that he was living on the West Coast - not in NY, but if he is in MBB then that would infer that he is living in NY.

Cuber - NICE!

You all should know that I am a huge Eddie Henderson fan. And I know Sipiagin's work on Criss Cross well. He plays really nicely too on Brecker's Quindectet Record - yes I bought it wondering if it deserved to beat the Vanguard Band for the Grammy for best large ensemble jazz record. I don't think so. (That Vanguard Band has to win some day. Maybe this year with the Slide Hampton record - but its not been getting enough press lately.)

Lacy was in DC a few weeks before I left for school. I couldn't make it because it was storming really heavily that night. I wanted to go so bad - because he is one of those older-school guys who I've heard on records with European cats from the 70s and 80s and never had a chance to see live.

Conrad Herwig - saw him at IAJE last year - was AMAZING.

Dave Kikoski - bad MOFO. He plays really well on the Roy Haynes "Birds of a Feather Band." - on that note, I was looking for Roy Haynes tour dates and I managed to find them on Ted Kurland Associates page - This guy Kurland is probably the biggest jazz booking agent out there. His roster of cats he books is ridiculous but it's a great place to find out about future tour dates for all your favorite artists.

www.tedkurland.com

Been wanting to hear Boris Koslov for quite a while now - I keep hearing his name everywhere.

Never heard of Donald Edwards.

I think Mingus would be proud - although you can never tell what that maniac wanted. I have heard this story where he slammed the piano top down on a guys fingers in a fit of rage over the guy getting in the way with his comping.