Charles Mingus Complete Town Hall Concert CD

Until recently, this concert was considered a low point in Charles Mingus' career. He had convinced the record company to let him record with a 30-piece band but hadn't completed the necessary amount of writing, and the concert had been inexplicably billed as an open recording session with an invited audience, as opposed to a performance recorded for posterity. Add to this sound problems on stage and the unveiling of some of Mingus' most ambitious work and you've got an unusual evening of music to say the least. But this reissue, which contains previously unreleased alternate takes and remastered material shows that the evening was far more successful than previously conceived.

THE COMPLETE TOWN HALL CONCERT is most noteworthy for the partial performance of Mingus' suite "Epitaph", whose completed score was discovered after Mingus' death and which was finally performed in its entirety at Alice Tully Hall in 1989. Many consider "Epitaph" to be Mingus' finest composition. Listening to its germination, as well as the other music on this date, is a rich and rewarding experience.

Recorded at Town Hall, New York, New York on October 12, 1963. This is the complete concert released in its entirety for the first time. Originally released in an edited form on United Artists Records in 1963.

Personnel: Les Spann (guitar); Danny Bank (bass clarinet, e flat clarinet); Romeo Penque (oboe); Eric Dolphy, Buddy Collette, Charles McPherson, Charlie Mariano (alto saxophone); Zoot Sims, George Berg (tenor saxophone); Jerome Richardson, Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Richard Gene Williams , Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Lonnie Hillyer , Edward Armour, Rolf Ericson, Snooky Young (trumpet); Eddie Bert, Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Willie Dennis , Paul Faulise, Britt Woodman (trombone); Jaki Byard, Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano); Warren Smith (vibraphone, percussion); Dannie Richmond (drums); Grady Tate (percussion).

Recording information: Town Hall, New York, NY (10/12/1962).

Photographer: Chuck Stewart.

Arrangers: Gene Roland; Melba Liston; Bob Hammer.

Personnel: Charles Mingus (bass); Eric Dolphy, Charles McPherson, Charlie Mariano, Buddy Collette (alto saxophone); Zoot Sims, George Berg (tenor saxophone); Jerome Richardson, Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Snooky Young, Ernie Royal, Richard Williams, Clark Terry, Eddie Armour, Lonnie Hilyer, Rolf Ericson (trumpet); Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, Jimmy Cleveland, Willie Dennis, Eddie Bert, Paul Faulise (trombone); Romeo Penque (oboe); Danny Bank (contrabass clarinet); Warren Smith (vibraphone, percussion); Jaki Byard, Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano); Les Spann (guitar); Milt Hinton (bass); Dannie Richmond (drums); Grady Tate (percussion).