Record Reviews

CHARLES MINGUS ~ TIJUANA MOODS (THE COMPLETE EDITION) RCA 174999 (Barcode: 743217499921) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 Released: 2000 Bassist / pianist / composer / bandleader Charles MingusFind albums by this artist was an exceptional, iconoclastic figure on the American Jazz landscape. Afraid of nothing and of no one, Mingus was not only a genius musician, but also a great story teller, always saying whatever he truly meant, however outrageous, immoral or shocking. His straightforwardness earned him many enemies among the American Jazz "establishment", often influencing his career in a negative way. This album is a great example of the above; recorded in 1957 and directly influenced by an alcohol / sex craze experienced in the Mexican "Wild South" border town of Tijuana, in an attempt to forget, what Mingus calls "a very blue period in my life", the sensuous and revolutionarily outrageous music was released only 5 years later, waiting for some people to take the stick out of their behind and allow this genius work to be heard. Although Mingus often referred to this album as the "best record he ever made", recognition of the fact that Mingus was light-years ahead of many of his contemporaries was slow to float up. Of course the music of Mingus is beyond description… Jazz, obviously, but so much more… and always brilliant. The music here is obviously influenced, however subtly, by the Mexican Mariachis heard often during that wild night in Tijuana, but it is all Mingus; his usual suite-like approach of composing music not as a collection of unrelated individual pieces but as a continuum, all coming together and following that wonderful crazy logic of his, which the listener only finds out about when the music is over. A Master of melody, Mingus actually never lets the listener enjoy it for more that a brief moment, jumping all over, around, aside, back at it, and out of it again. Of course he also knew how to pick up his band members, often running the show with an iron fist, but honestly, how the ensemble could function any other way, considering how devilishly complex the music they performed was. And yes, they were all brilliant players: trombonist Jimmy KnepperFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Curtis PorterFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Clarence ShawFind albums by this artist, pianist Bill TrigliaFind albums by this artist and drummer Danny RichmondFind albums by this artist (Mingus´ lifetime musical buddy, who joined his band just a few weeks before the recording). This wonderful edition adds a previously unreleased track, recorded at the same sessions as the album, which features a superb example of Mingus´ writing, narrated here by Lonnie ElderFind albums by this artist on top of the ensemble playing – a typical Jazz & Poetry setting fondly reminding the Beat days. A second CD full of alternate takes is also added. Need I say essential? Yes I do!

Updated: 01/01/2016Posted:

CD 2 Digipak Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend