Charles Mingus Blues & Roots (Deluxe Edition) CD

The 1998 reissue of BLUES & ROOTS contains all the original tracks and liner notes, plus additional tracks and rare photos.

Mingus goes to church. A thrilling album of blues and spirituals Mingus style. This 1959 Atlantic recording certainly ranks among his very best. Memorable performances of some of the bassist's most soulful tunes such as "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" and "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too." Mingus is joined by an exuberant ensemble including a stellar saxophone section of Jackie McLean, John Handy, Booker Ervin, and Pepper Adams.

In response to critical carping that his ambitious, evocative music somehow didn't swing enough, Charles Mingus returned to the earthiest and earliest sources of black musical expression, namely the blues, gospel, and old-time New Orleans jazz. The resulting LP, Blues and Roots, isn't quite as wildly eclectic as usual, but it ranks as arguably Mingus' most joyously swinging outing. Working with simple forms, Mingus boosts the complexity of the music by assembling a nine-piece outfit and arranging multiple lines to be played simultaneously -- somewhat akin to the Dixieland ensembles of old, but with an acutely modern flavor. Anyone who had heard "Haitian Fight Song" shouldn't have been surprised that such an album was well within Mingus' range, but jazz's self-appointed guardians have long greeted innovation with reactionary distaste. After Blues and Roots, there could be no question of Mingus' firm grounding in the basics, nor of his deeply felt affinity with them. Whether the music is explicitly gospel-based -- like the groundbreaking classic "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" -- or not, the whole album is performed with a churchy fervor that rips through both the exuberant swingers and the aching, mournful slow blues. Still, it's the blues that most prominently inform the feeling of the album, aside from the aforementioned "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" and the Jelly Roll Morton tribute "My Jelly Roll Soul." The recording session was reportedly very disorganized, but perhaps that actually helped give the performances the proper feel, since they wound up so loose and free-swinging. With a lineup including John Handy and Jackie McLean on alto, Booker Ervin on tenor, frequent anchor Pepper Adams on baritone, and Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis on trombones, among others, Blues and Roots isn't hurting for fiery soloists, and they help make the album perhaps the most soulful in Mingus' discography. ~ Steve Huey

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Deluxe Edition

Recorded at Atlantic Studios, New York, New York on February 4, 1959. Originally released on Atlantic (1305). Includes liner notes by Charles Mingus.

Personnel: Charles Mingus (bass); Jackie McLean, John Handy (alto saxophone); Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone); Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Jimmy Knepper, Willie Dennis (trombone); Horace Parlan, Mal Waldron (piano); Dannie Richmond (drums).

Personnel: Jackie McLean, John Handy (alto saxophone); Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone); Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Jimmy Knepper, Willie Dennis (trombone); Horace Parlan, Mal Waldron (piano); Dannie Richmond (drums).

Liner Note Author: Charles Mingus.

Photographer: Lee Friedlander.Q (7/93, p.110) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...at his best he could drive his fellow musicians onwards and upwards with big bass playing and hoarse exhortations. BLUES & ROOTS contains six servings of this brilliance..."
Down Beat (1960) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...vital and important music...[Mingus] is outstanding in his solo work...this is something worth careful and thorough listening..."