king ubu Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Tomorrow I'll go to see the Mingus Big Band, in one of the few cool locations in Zurich, a small club - it's gonna be real loud in there! I never saw them live so far, but I have heard broadcasts of several concerts they played in switzerland since about 1998, and was usually rather impressed by the musicality, the abilities of the single members and soloists, as well as by their way of handling Mingus' music - they're level of "liveliness" or whatever, of intensity, often does get pretty close to Mingus' own music, it seems. Has anyone here seen/heard them recently? I would be interested in hearing some opinions! ubu (btw: they charge 50 CHF, which is currently more than 35US$ - crazy prize, no? How much would it cost to see them play two sets in a club in the US?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I was very lucky: about four years ago I saw them perform in a University recital hall for about ninety minutes for six dollars! You're in for a solid treat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 At Fez in New York, where they have played every Thursday for years, the cover is $18 + a drink minimum. Clubs in NY average $15-35 cover (some shows higher at places like the Blue Note). These days $25 is about the norm. I haven't seen the band in several years, but even from week to week the personnel changes, which is part of the fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Yes, Pete, I was wondering, because the club they'll play did print a list of the personnel in the programme they sent out more than a month ago - I bet at least a third of the musicians will be different! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I bet at least a third of the musicians will be different! Maybe not, since touring arrangements do require advance planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robviti Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 i just saw them in boston a couple of weeks ago. $26 a set. they are well worth that, and more, although i still prefer to see them at the fez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I saw them in December -- they were great. The group I saw included Jack Walrath, David Kikoski, Jaleel Shaw, Craig Handy, Conrad Herwig, John Stubblefield, Seamus Blake, and Gary Smulyan. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mule Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've seen them a couple of times--last time at the Hollywood Bowl--and they've always been great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 I bet at least a third of the musicians will be different! Maybe not, since touring arrangements do require advance planning. I'll see. I'm looking forward to tonight very much - the only problem is eight hours of work in between now and then... Would be great to have Stubblefield and Blake on tenor, yet I'd also like to see Wayne Escofferey live - he's on one of the broadcasts I have, and I am pretty impressed by his sound and ideas. ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Here's the personnel listed on the club's website and printed programme: Eddie 'Doc' Henderson, Kenny Rampton, Alex Sipiagin - tps Craig Handy, John Stubblefield, Wayne Escoffery, Jaleel Shaw, Mike Sim - saxes Ku-umba Frank Lacy - tb/voc, Clark Gayton - tb, Earl McIntyre - b-tb/tuba Kenny Drew Jr. - p Boris Kozlov - b Donald Edwards - dr I always like Kozlov, by the way! Does a good job in the most difficult position of the band! How's the current musical director? I though it was Alex Foster, but he's not listed. ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 I saw them at Fez last October--it was great as usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I just returned from that concert! WOW! They're great! (And Sue, well, I expected worse, to be honest...) Highlights were by Kozlov (a great intro to Haitian Fight Song), by Escofferey, by Rampton, and Gaton. Also Shaw, Sim (both totally unknown to me), and Craig Handy played lots of good solos. Lacy, well... he should stop singing, be a bit less of an entertainer, and try to build his solos a little bit more careful. He just plays, only rhythm, only effects... maybe he could play with Maceo and Fred Wesley & co., but, hey! Everybody around him was trying to come up with good solos, and he's all show, and not much else... Gaton played wonderful, and McIntyre, on his single one solo, too. Tunes performed included Orange, Tonight At Noon, Black Saint Pts.1-3, Self Portrait, Atomic Bomb, another one with vocals by Lacy the title of which escapes me, and some more. Two of the arrangements were by John Stubblefield (Orange, and I think Atomic Bomb), and he played only one solo, but a great blues solo! Sim was pretty impressive on baritone, Handy on alto and soprano, Shaw had a couple of good spots on alto, too, but Escofferey was the best! Rampton and Sipiagin have great chops, beautiful sound, ease, and good ideas. Eddie Henderson played one solo with harmon mute, that was beautiful, but his other solo, the first of the evening, was really ridiculous - he did not reach one note right - like he was too lazy to warm up before the concert. Really sloppy! Uh, they also played Passions of a Woman Loved - what a great tune! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I'd bet the Lacy vocal feature was "Devil Blues." Sipiagin really has a beautiful sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I'd bet the Lacy vocal feature was "Devil Blues." Sipiagin really has a beautiful sound. No, it was a tune that almost sounded like an old standard (the melody, the changes, and the lyrics - rather bland). I would have known Devil Blues. Some "Baby" in the lyrics (and maybe the title, too)... ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I bet at least a third of the musicians will be different! Maybe not, since touring arrangements do require advance planning. You were dead-right about the personnel - exactly as I listed! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 "Baby Take a Chance with ME" maybe? This was a forties Mingus tune. Sounds like it was a fantastic show and glad you went! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 "Baby Take a Chance with ME" maybe? This was a forties Mingus tune. Sounds like it was a fantastic show and glad you went! Yeah, it was "Baby Take A Chance With Me"! I did forget about two of the numbers they performed. Orange was the encore. The first half of Black Saint was quite a treat, but somehow I missed the great solos from the record (Mariano, Richardson - some of their phrases are virtually burnt into my memory). I went to Escofferey right after the show to tell him how much I loved his playing. He was a bit surprised (swiss people don't do this kind of thing, usually), but very kind and told me how much he appreciated hearing this. A nice person, I think! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 I saw the Big Band in Feb '03. The personnel was : Orrin Evans, Boris Kozlov, Craig Handy, John Stubblefield, Donald Edwards, Kenny Rankin, and Frank Lacy. Very nice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 I'll be in NYC at the end of April. I will probably try to catch them at the Fez. There's not much else interesting that weekend, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Here's a review from "The Guardian" of their show at Ronnie Scott's: +++ Mingus Big Band Ronnie Scott's, London John Fordham Saturday March 13, 2004 The Guardian This playful legacy band, reluctant to play the same rehearsed handful of Charles Mingus classics every night of its stint at Ronnie Scott's, has elected to get through as much of the departed master composer and bassist's work as it can squeeze into six nights - without repetition. They had the audience pick a set's worth of tune titles from a hat at the start, and from then on they flew by the seats of their pants. What is sacrificed is tautness and accuracy on pieces the band might not have performed for months. What is gained is the urgency of spontaneous discovery - and there was plenty of that. The opener, Mingus Fingers, was a feature for the man who stands in Mingus's shoes and plays his old bass: Boris Kozlov. Kozlov's hard-struck notes and thumping rhythmic power held together the blurts, wriggles, raw brass calls and chattering cross-lines of the ensemble parts, and the piece settled into a swinging groove for an indignant trombone solo from Frank Lacy and an imaginative muted trumpet break from Eddie Henderson. No 29 - a similarly searching, slithery follow-up - was also dramatically focused by the improvising, particularly the inimitable Mingus veteran John Stubblefield's rootsy, raw-boned tenor-sax break, ending in an ecstatic circular-breathing finale. The ballad Self Portrait in Three Colours brought a contrastingly warm and smoky tenor-sax meditation from Wayne Escoffery and a resourceful solo of crisply ascending patterns, choppy chords and even some early-swing romanticism from the excellent pianist Kenny Drew Jr. Trumpeter Kenny Rampton's bebop break on Wednesday Night Prayer meeting, however, was the improvisation of the set - precise, beautifully constructed, rhythmically unerring and full of fresh phrasing. A bold working approach for this consistently classy outfit, but one that is right in Mingus's own ballpark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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