Charles Mingus Complete 1970s Atlantic box set

[ghost of miles]

Coming from Rhino in June—here’s the press release I just received:

CHARLES MINGUS CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS

8-LP And 7-CD Deluxe Boxed Sets Featuring Jazz Icon’s Final Seven Studio Albums And Unreleased Outtakes Available June 23   LOS ANGELES – Charles Mingus is the most important American jazz composer after Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. As part of the ongoing celebration of Mingus’ centennial, Rhino will release a new boxed set that spotlights the creative resurgence that defined the final phase of the legendary bassist and composer’s career.   The upcoming collection includes the last seven studio albums Mingus recorded for Atlantic Records between 1973 and his death in 1979 and a selection of outtakes - some previously unreleased. CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS will be released on June 23 as a 7-CD set for $79.98, an 8-LP set on 180-gram vinyl for $199.98, digitally for $24.99, and for stream. Pre-orders are available HERE.   The set brings together newly remastered versions of all seven studio albums Mingus recorded for Atlantic in the 1970s. The LP and CD versions include Mingus Moves (1973), Changes One(1974), Changes Two (1974), Three or Four Shades of Blues(1977), Cumbia & Jazz Fusion(1977), Me, Myself an Eye (1979), and Something Like a Bird(1979). The collection also features previously unreleased session outtakes.   CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS comes with an illustrated booklet that delves deep into the final years of Mingus’ music with extensive liner notes by Andrew Homzy, a musician, arranger, jazz scholar, and Grammy® Award Nominee.   Mingus Moves opens the collection, recorded in October 1973, leading a new quintet with youthful musicians – trumpeter Ronald Hampton, tenor saxophonist George Adams, and pianist Don Pullen – and old friend Dannie Richmond on drums. One of the songs they recorded was a new Mingus composition, “Opus 3,” which was built on the chords from the composer’s 1956 landmark piece, “Pithecanthropus Erectus.”   The band’s lineup shifted slightly in 1974 when Jack Walrath replaced Hampton on trumpet. Soon, Mingus and the group returned to the studio for a three-day session that produced two albums, Changes One and Changes Two. A tribute to Mingus’ dynamic wife, “Sue’s Changes” from Changes One is a vibrant masterpiece. With five themes that move through several different keys, tempos, instrumental textures, and emotional registers, it’s a highwater mark not only in Mingus’ career but also in jazz history.   Mingus recorded Three or Four Shades of Blues in 1977 with a rotating cast of stellar musicians. The album includes new versions of two Mingus standards, “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” and “Better Git Hit In Your Soul.”   Mingus was commissioned to write the score for an Italian film, Todo Modo, in 1976. Performing with a large ensemble, he recorded two extended compositions that rank high among his best work of the 1970s. Ironically, the music wasn’t used in the film; however, it was released on Cumbia & Jazz Fusion in 1977. Later that year, Mingus was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Undeterred, he continued to compose and direct his last recording sessions from a wheelchair. Me, Myself an Eye,and Something Like a Bird were completed before his death in January 1979 - both included in Changes.   Five previously unreleased recordings debut in the new collection. The CD version includes three outtakes: “Big Alice,” “The Call,” and “Music for ‘Todo Modo.’” The LP version consists of those plus additional unreleased takes for “Big Alice” and “The Call” that are exclusive to the vinyl set CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS Vinyl Track Listing   LP 1: Mingus Moves (1973) Side 1 1.    “Canon” 2.    “Opus 4” 3.    “Moves” 4.    “Wee”   Side 2 1.    “Flowers For A Lady” 2.    “Newcomer” 3.    “Opus 3”   LP 2: Changes One (1974) Side 1 1.    “Remember Rockefeller At Attica” 2.    “Sue’s Changes”   Side 2 1.    “Devil Blues” 2.    “Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love”   LP 3: Changes Two (1974) Side 1 1.    “Free Cell Block F, ‘Tis Nazi U.S.A.” 2.    “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue”   Side 2 1.    “Black Bats And Poles” 2.    “Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love” 3.    “For Harry Carney”   LP 4: Three Or Four Shades Of Blues (1977) Side 1 1.    “Better Git Hit In Your Soul” 2.    “Goodbye, Porkpie Hat” 3.    “Noddin Ya Head Blues”   Side 2 1.    “Three Or Four Shades Of Blues” 2.    “Nobody Knows (The Bradley I Know)”   LP 5: Cumbia & Jazz Fusion(1977) Side 1 1.    “Cumbia & Jazz Fusion”   Side 2 1.    “Music for ‘Todo Modo’”   LP 6: Me, Myself An Eye (1979) Side 1 1.    “Three Worlds Of Drums”   Side 2 1.    “Devil Woman” 2.    “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting” 3.    “Carolyn ‘Keki’ Mingus”   LP 7: Something Like A Bird(1979) Side 1 1.    “Something Like A Bird Part 1”   Side 2 1.    “Something Like A Bird Part 2” 2.    “Farewell Farwell”   LP 8: Outtakes Side 1 1.    “Music For ‘Todo Modo’” (Take 1)* 2.    “Big Alice” (Take 1) * 3.    “Big Alice” (Take 2) *   Side 2 1.    “Big Alice” (Take 3) * 2.    “Big Alice” (Take 4) 3.    “The Call” (Take 1) * 4.    “The Call” (Take 2)   * Previously Unreleased   CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS CD Track Listing   Disc 1: Mingus Moves (1973) 1.    “Canon” 2.    “Opus 4” 3.    “Moves” 4.    “Wee” 5.    “Flowers For A Lady” 6.    “Newcomer” 7.    “Opus 3” 8.    “Big Alice” (Take 1) * 9.    “The Call” (Take 1) *   Disc 2: Changes One (1974) 1.    “Remember Rockefeller At Attica” 2.    “Sue’s Changes” 3.    “Devil Blues” 4.    “Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love”   Disc 3: Changes Two (1974) 1.    “Free Cell Block F, ‘Tis Nazi U.S.A.” 2.    “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue” 3.    “Black Bats And Poles” 4.    “Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love” 5.    “For Harry Carney”   Disc 4: Three Or Four Shades Of Blues (1977) 1.    “Better Git Hit In Your Soul” 2.    “Goodbye, Porkpie Hat” 3.    “Noddin Ya Head Blues” 4.    “Three Or Four Shades Of Blues” 5.    “Nobody Knows (The Bradley I Know)”   Disc 5: Cumbia & Jazz Fusion(1977) 1.    “Cumbia & Jazz Fusion” 2.    “Music for ‘Todo Modo’” 3.    “Music for ‘Todo Modo’” (Take 1) * *Outtakes   Disc 6: Me, Myself An Eye (1979) 1.    “Three Worlds Of Drums” 2.    “Devil Woman” 3.    “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting” 4.    “Carolyn ‘Keki’ Mingus”   Disc 7: Something Like A Bird (1979) 1.    “Something Like A Bird Part 1” 2.    “Something Like A Bird Part 2” 3.    “Farewell Farwell”   * Previously Unreleased ###

[mikeweil]

Two of the five previously unissued takes exclusively on the vinyl set. Duh! As if there wasn'r any space left on the CDs.

[jazzbo]

I confess that these are the albums from Mingus I listen to least. . . . If I'm flush enough I may order this but. . . I confess to surprising myself by being somewhat underwhelmed.

[ghost of miles]

13 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Two of the five previously unissued takes exclusively on the vinyl set. Duh! As if there wasn'r any space left on the CDs.

Didn’t notice that, but yeah. 👎  I’m likely to pick this one up regardless (on CD), and I’m sure my pursuit of life, liberty and happiness won’t be too impeded by missing a couple of alternate takes, but that kind of packaging gimmickry is really irritating—especially when they’re marketing something as “Complete.” 

Edited April 19, 2023 by ghost of miles

[HutchFan]

I LOVE this music.    For newer and/or younger Mingus fans who haven't thoroughly explored his 70s output, this set will be a goldmine.

OTOH, I won't be in the market for it -- because I already have these albums.  With so many other things out there that aren't in my collection, a few alternate takes and fancy packaging (presumably) won't be enough for me to spring for it.  

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by HutchFan

[kh1958]

On amazon, the CD set is priced at $80 and the LP set at a lofty $200.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Quote

Five previously unreleased recordings debut in the new collection. The CD version includes three outtakes: “Big Alice,” “The Call,” and “Music for ‘Todo Modo.’” The LP version consists of those plus additional unreleased takes for “Big Alice” and “The Call” that are exclusive to the vinyl set.

That is just dumb.

Edited April 20, 2023 by bresna

[T.D.]

5 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

I LOVE this music.    For newer and/or younger Mingus fans who haven't thoroughly explored his 70s output, this set will be a goldmine.

OTOH, I won't be in the market for it -- because I already have these albums.  With so many other things out there that aren't in my collection, a few alternate takes and fancy packaging isn't enough for me to spring for it.  

 

Weirdly, I AM in the market for this...I have a lot of Mingus recordings, but the '70s output is severely underrepresented (granted, because I thought it was more, uh, mixed quality). I'll likely go for the CDs, don't bemoan the extra track details...I suppose the vinyl buyers need some kind of carrot given the silly prices vinyl goes for these days. 😉

[HutchFan]

15 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Weirdly, I AM in the market for this...I have a lot of Mingus recordings, but the '70s output is severely underrepresented (granted, because I thought it was more, uh, mixed quality). I'll likely go for the CDs, don't bemoan the extra track details...I suppose the vinyl buyers need some kind of carrot given the silly prices vinyl goes for these days. 😉

T.D., I think you might be surprised -- and pleased -- with their consistency.  Of the seven albums, I'd rate five at either 4.5 or 5 stars.  (The last two are the least compelling, imo.)

That said, as always, YMMV.  

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by HutchFan

[mjazzg]

33 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Weirdly, I AM in the market for this...I have a lot of Mingus recordings, but the '70s output is severely underrepresented (granted, because I thought it was more, uh, mixed quality). I'll likely go for the CDs, don't bemoan the extra track details...I suppose the vinyl buyers need some kind of carrot given the silly prices vinyl goes for these days. 😉

My reaction too, I could be tempted by this. I only have 'Mingus Moves' which I consider a masterpiece.

As for vinyl, I reckon you could pick up LP copies of all of them for less than $200 surely. You'd miss out on the alternates obviously but...

[John L]

1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

I confess that these are the albums from Mingus I listen to least. . . . If I'm flush enough I may order this but. . . I confess to surprising myself by being somewhat underwhelmed.

Me too.  By contrast, the earlier Atlantic albums are the Mingus that I listen to the most.  

[jlhoots]

54 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

I LOVE this music.    For newer and/or younger Mingus fans who haven't thoroughly explored his 70s output, this set will be a goldmine.

OTOH, I won't be in the market for it -- because I already have these albums.  With so many other things out there that aren't in my collection, a few alternate takes and fancy packaging (presumably) won't be enough for me to spring for it.  

 

+1

[mjzee]

A few thoughts:

1. An obvious exclusion is Mingus At Carnegie Hall.  They need to change the title from CHANGES: THE COMPLETE 1970s ATLANTIC RECORDINGS to include the word "studio."
2. "Something Like A Bird," IIRC, was a seamless performance; it was split into two parts because the entire track was too long for one side of an LP.  And yet it appears as Part 1 and Part 2 here.  Does this mean Rhino did not go back to the original tapes?
3. In a similar vein, many of these performances stretched the limits of LP sides (the track "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" is 28 minutes, "Three Worlds of Drums" is 30 minutes, and the second side of "Me Myself" is similarly long).  That meant a lot of compression was used in mastering these LPs.  Will Rhino go back to the original tapes and restore the full dynamic range to these tracks?  I fear the answer will be no, since they're probably using the same mastering for the CD and LP versions of this box.

[sonnymax]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

That is fucking stupid.

Not if you want to sell more vinyl.

One more thing:

[mjazzg]

6 minutes ago, sonnymax said:

Not if you want to sell more vinyl.

Exactly, in the good old days it was extra tracks on the CD to tempt us over to that format. What goes around 😃

[sonnymax]

Sez you, potty mouth.

[felser]

I'm in, though I'll wait to order from somewhere like ImportCD's or DeepDiscount, which I suspect will be $15-20 cheaper than Amazon.  I have all of these albums on CD already, but the remastering and packaging are enough for me.  Don't really care about the outtakes very much.  I love "Moves", both "Changes", and the title track side of "Cumbia".  The other three albums are interesting artifacts and very good in places.

[T.D.]

5 minutes ago, felser said:

I'm in, though I'll wait to order from somewhere like ImportCD's or DeepDiscount, which I suspect will be $15-20 cheaper than Amazon.  I have all of these albums on CD already, but the remastering and packaging are enough for me.  Don't really care about the outtakes very much...

[Emphasis added] Agreed, especially on non-Amazon sources. I prefer this kind of CD packaging, but have some qualms about the "remastering" in view of mjzee's comments above. Can live w/o alternate takes.

[GA Russell]

•  

[JSngry]

I wish they'd have used a Cigar Mingus for the cover. That looks was iconic l. 

[gmonahan]

5 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I confess that these are the albums from Mingus I listen to least. . . . If I'm flush enough I may order this but. . . I confess to surprising myself by being somewhat underwhelmed.

Ditto.

 

[miles65]

'Big Alice' and 'The Call' on the CD version are not unissued they are on the Rhino CD version of 'Mingus Moves'. 'Music for Todo Mondo' is the only unissued take on the CD version. 

On the CD 'Cumbia & Jazz Fusion' the 2 takes of Wedding March/Slow Waltz are missing on both the LP and CD version. They are on the Rhino CD issued in 1994.

A resounding NO from me for this set.

[Gheorghe]

I think I have them all on record. This was the decade when I was really a big big fan of Mingus, maybe he was my favourite musician at all, and my guide to jazz styles from the past towards more free forms, and eventually also including some 70´s rock feel in his work. A giant, a reason why I play jazz. 

I must admit, I don´t like the "Mingus Moves" so much. For me things started really with "Changes One/Two". I saw that I can compare this in quality of music with the so beloved Eric Dolphy collaborations from the 60´s. 

That´s the first live Mingus I heard, tunes from that albums "For Harry Carney" "Sue´s Changes" ....

[BFrank]

About TIME! I've been wondering why these albums were never re-released/re-mastered ... whatever.

[mhatta]

On 4/20/2023 at 6:40 AM, miles65 said:

'Big Alice' and 'The Call' on the CD version are not unissued they are on the Rhino CD version of 'Mingus Moves'. 'Music for Todo Mondo' is the only unissued take on the CD version. 

On the CD 'Cumbia & Jazz Fusion' the 2 takes of Wedding March/Slow Waltz are missing on both the LP and CD version. They are on the Rhino CD issued in 1994.

A resounding NO from me for this set.

AFAIK, there are more than 2 takes of Mingus solo piano recordings of "Wedding March/Slow Waltz" (11 min altogether).  Each take is quite different.  There are also fragments of the bass and guitar (Scofield?) practicing. If they call it "complete", I wish they would have released those as well.

Edited April 22, 2023 by mhatta