Farewell Farwell: Charles Mingus’ Last Works Chronicled in New Rhino Box Set
Influential jazz composer-bassist Charles Mingus has been the subject of numerous collections over the years encompassing his various label affiliations. The 1997 box set Passions of a Man: The Complete Atlantic Recordings 1956-1961 brought together his early discography for the Atlantic Records label; now, as part of the Mingus 100 festivities, Rhino is turning its attention to his second Atlantic period.
On June 23, the label will release Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Recordings on 7 CDs, 8 LPs, and digital formats. The box collects new remasters of all seven of Mingus’ studio albums as originally released between 1974 and 1979 plus previously unreleased outtakes. The albums are:
- 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).
Mingus moved back to Atlantic after a creatively fertile run at Columbia Records which culminated in the 1972 studio set Let My Children Hear Music and live album Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert. His first album back at Atlantic, Mingus Moves, welcomed a new quintet including new recruits Ronald Hampton (trumpet), George Adams (tenor saxophone), and Don Pullen (piano) as well as veteran Dannie Richmond (drums). Among the compositions they recorded was “Opus 3,” which harkened back to Mingus’ first stint at Atlantic by building on the chords of “Pithecanthropus Erectus,” the title track of his 1956 Atlantic debut.
Mingus’ next two albums for the label, Changes One and Changes Two, were recorded during a three-day session with largely the same band; Jack Walrath had replaced Ronald Hampton on trumpet. The wide-ranging compositions name-checked Duke Ellington, saxophonist Harry Carney, New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (and his notorious handling of the Attica prison riot), and Mingus’ wife Sue. “Sue’s Changes” became one of his most beloved pieces, a five-theme suite that gallops through keys, tempos, and moods – much as a marriage might.
Three or Four Shades of Blues (1977) was performed by large ensembles featuring saxophonists Ricky Ford, George Coleman, and Sonny Fortune, pianist Jimmy Rowles, guitarists Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine and John Scofield, bassists Ron Carter and George Mraz, trumpeter Jack Walrath, and drummer Dannie Richmond. This all-star line-up yielded new recordings of Mingus’ classics “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” and “Better Git Hit in Your Soul,” and the album was praised for bringing bebop up to date in the musical context of the late 1970s. His next Atlantic LP, Cumbia & Jazz Fusion, featured two long pieces composed for director Elio Petri’s Italian film Todo Modo. Though the movie ultimately didn’t use the tracks which were performed by a big band – the director opted for an Ennio Morricone score, instead – they lived on via the album presentation.
Sadly, Charles Mingus was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease during this time. He supervised the sessions for his final two Atlantic albums – Me, Myself an Eye and Something Like a Bird – before his death in January 1979. Sadly, he was unable to play on either of the albums, but his compositional skills were undiminished.
The CD version includes three previously unreleased outtakes: “Big Alice,” “The Call,” and “Music for ‘Todo Modo.'” The LP version, though, offers more: those three tracks plus additional unreleased takes for “Big Alice” and “The Call” and previously released alternates (which first appeared on CD in 1993) of “Big Alice” and “The Call.”
Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Recordings comes with an illustrated booklet boasting new liner notes by jazz historian and musician Andrew Homzy. Look for it on June 23 from Rhino and Atlantic!
Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Recordings (Atlantic/Rhino, 2023)
7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
8LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP 1: Mingus Moves (Atlantic SD 1653, 1974)
- Canon
- Opus 4
- Moves
- Wee
- Flowers for a Lady
- Newcomer
- Opus 3
LP 2: Changes One (Atlantic SD 1677, 1975)
- Remember Rockefeller At Attica
- Sue’s Changes
- Devil Blues
- Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love
LP 3: Changes Two (Atlantic SD 1678, 1975)
- Free Cell Block F, ‘Tis Nazi U.S.A.
- Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue
- Black Bats and Poles
- Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love
- For Harry Carney
LP 4: Three or Four Shades of Blue (Atlantic SD 1700, 1977)
- Better Git Hit in Your Soul
- Goodbye Porkpie Hat
- Noddin’ Your Head Blues
- Three or Four Shades of Blue
- Nobody Knows (The Bradley I Know)
LP 5: Cumbia & Jazz Fusion (Atlantic SD 8801, 1978)
- Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
- Music for “Todo Modo”
LP 6: Me Myself An Eye (Atlantic SD 8803, 1979)
- Three Worlds of Drums
- Devil Woman
- Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
- Carolyn “Kaki” Mingus
LP 7: Something Like a Bird (Atlantic SD 8805, 1980)
- Something Like a Bird Part 1
- Something Like a Bird Part 2
- Farewell Farwell
LP 8: Outtakes (previously unreleased except where noted)
- Music for “Todo Modo” (Take 1)
- Big Alice (Take 1)
- Big Alice (Take 2) (*)
- Big Alice (Take 3) (*)
- Big Alice (Take 4) (*)
- The Call (Take 1)
- The Call (Take 2) (*)
(*) exclusive to vinyl release only
Tracks 5 and 7 released on Mingus Moves CD reissue – Rhino R2 71454, 1993
You Might Also Like
1 thought on “Farewell Farwell: Charles Mingus’ Last Works Chronicled in New Rhino Box Set”
Leave a Comment
not sure why rhino continues to issue these box sets as the buying audience is so small?. times are hard now and $ is not used the way it used to be.