Resonance Records presents a previously unreleased jazz treasures: The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s, a volcanic, never-before-heard 1972 club performance by bassist-composer Charles Mingus’ powerful sextet.
The live set, comprising nearly two-and-a-half hours of music, was professionally recorded on eight-track tapes via a mobile recording truck on Aug. 14-15, 1972. However, the performance went unreleased, for Mingus – along with every other top jazz musician on the Columbia roster except for Miles Davis – was dropped by the label in the spring of 1973. The present release is completely authorized by Jazz Workshop, Inc., which controls Mingus’ music.
The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s features nine performances captured during the two-night engagement; some of them – the then-new compositions “Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blues” and “Mind-readers’ Convention in Milano” and the war horse “Fables of Faubus” – are epics that stretch close to or past the half-hour mark. In its entirety, the set bears comparison to Mingus’ storied concerts at Monterey, Carnegie Hall, and Antibes.
This 3-CD set includes an extensive insert with rare photos from Jan Persson, Christian Rose, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Hans Harzheim and others; essay by British jazz author Brian Priestley, who saw the band during this run and conducted an interview with Mingus and McPherson at the time; new interviews with Charles McPherson, Mingus’ friend and author Fran Lebowitz, plus bass icons Eddie Gomez and Christian McBride.
Charles Mingus (bass)
Charles McPherson (alto sax)
Bobby Jones (tenor sax)
Jon Faddis (trumpet)
John Foster (piano)
Roy Brooks (drums)
TRACKS:
CD ONE
01. Introduction
02. Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Bules (Part 1)
03. Noddin’ Ya Head Blues
CD TWO
01. Mind-Readers’ Convention In Milano (aka Number 29)
02. Ko Ko (Theme)
CD THREE
01. Fables Of Faubus (Part 1)
02. Pops (aka When The Saints Go Marching In)
03. The Man Who Never Sleeps
04. Air Mail Special