THE CHARLES MINGUS SEXTET

Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy - Cornell 1964

2007-11-30

Only the students at Cornell University, the band members, and a few close friends were privy to this stream of jazz consciousness before Sue Graham Mingus discovered the tape of this March 18, 1964 performance by the Charles Mingus Sextet. Here we see Charles Mingus jauntily leading trumpetman Johnny Coles, saxophonist Clifford Jordan, drummer Dannie Richmond, and bardsman Eric Dolphy on sax, flute, and bass clarinet through an iconoclastic exploration of jazz music. Mingus leads an interpretative dissertation on Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" and embarks on a 20-minute journey to "Take the 'A' Train." This two-disc set features Mingus on Mingus in his thirty minute demarcation of the standard "Meditations" before bidding farewell to his long time collaborator, Eric Dolphy, with the celebratory "So Long Eric." Also included is the ubiquitous Mingus statement, "Fables of Faubus." This double dip is a must have for any true Mingus epicurean. - Daniel J. Graeber

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