Mingus Big Band — Tonight at Noon… Three or Four Shades of Love (Dreyfus Jazz)
A sure bet for a great night of jazz in New York is the Mingus Big Band, holding forth every week at NYC’s Time Spot Cafe. For a decade now, the MBB has been the city’s best repertoire band, spearheaded by the tireless efforts of Sue Mingus and dedicated to playing the compositions of her late husband, the iconic bassist/composer Charles Mingus, one of the genre’s truly brilliant and prolific composers. While the roster changes weekly, the Mingus Big Band always boasts a bandstand of stellar talent. Of the six CDs the MBB has made since 1993, this latest ranks with their best. Mingus was enamoured with love as a compositional theme, and this disc features tunes on the subject of love. Echoing the bassist’s legendary emotional volatility, his love songs ranged from sweet ballads to scorching rebukes to tempestuous jazz romps. Some spirited, well-crafted arrangements provide tight ensemble work, while a number of excellent soloists have a field day, including trumpeter Randy Brecker, the consistently excellent tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, and trombonists Frank Lacy and Conrad Herwig. Highlights include a rousing take of Mingus’ extended masterpiece, “Black Saint & Sinner Lady,” but the set’s great delight comes from a collaboration with Elvis Costello, who has occasionally sat in with the MBB in New York. Costello wrote new lyrics for the Mingus tune “Invisible Lady,” and his singing captures the essence of Mingus’ passions: The lyrics feel marvelously anachronistic, with Costello’s delivery adding an elegant touch of noir.
Cassandra Wilson — Belly of the Sun (Blue Note)
Jazz has always assimilated seemingly “non jazz” elements into its fold, and through the artistry of great innovators, the genre continues to evolve and grow. Parker and Gillespie stepped away from the dominant jazz of the time (swing) and invented the harmonically complex and intellectually stimulating subgenre of bebop. One of the latest in this innovative tradition is Cassandra Wilson, who goes home to the Mississippi Delta for this blues-influenced recording that’s the latest volley in her ongoing redefinition of the jazz vocal tradition. Instrumentally, she continues to shun horns and a trap set in favor of guitars and percussion, giving her more space and rhythmic freedom to deliver her lyrics while creating a sound heavily influenced by the folk-rock tradition. She tackles tunes most jazz singers wouldn’t touch, including The Band’s “The Weight,” Dylan’s “Shelter From the Storm” and Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” seeing in these rock/pop/folk tunes elements that, through her magic, are recast as pure jazz. Since the Delta means blues, she also includes tunes by Robert Johnson and Fred McDowell. She hearkens to the jazz tradition — the way she holds and compresses notes and skips around the beat recalls both Billie Holiday and Betty Carter. But she also incorporates elements of Dylan and Joni Mitchell — she’s listened to everything and assimilates these elements into her evocative and savory jazz stew. Each tune on this record reveals, once again, that Wilson is creating an impressive catalog as a major innovator. She’s one of the most refreshing jazz artists on the scene, and she’s getting better with each new recording.
Joe Farrell — Moon Germs (CTI)
By the time of this blistering 1972 set, saxophonist Farrell’s credits included stints with
This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2002.
