Blue Moods
Occupation
- Trumpet: Miles Davis
- Trombone Britt Woodman
- Vibraphone: Teddy Charles
- Bass: Charles Mingus
- Drums: Elvin Jones
Bluemoods is a jazz album by Miles Davis, recorded on July 9, 1955 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack (New Jersey). The album was produced by the participating bassist Charles Mingus for his label debut Records.
Background of the Session
The Bluemoods - session in July 1955 brought Miles Davis back together with bassist Charles Mingus. They had taken in California in 1946; Mingus played at the beginning of the 1950s in New York's Birdland and then in Boston at Davis; the last meeting of the two musicians in the recording studio was two years ago, than with a session on May 19, 1953 Mingus was at the piano and Miles Davis a title called Smooch grossed which was based on the Mingus composition Weird Nightmare.
A few days before the trumpeter had for his contract Label Quartet Prestige Recordings (The Musings of Miles ) played with Oscar Pettiford, Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones, "a kind of microcosm of musical direction that should take Miles for the following years." On Saturday on his legendary Newport performance took place, which should give a strong impetus to further his career and gave him the record deal with Columbia.
Charles Mingus, however, worked at this time with musicians of his Jazz Composers Workshop, which Teddy Charles and Britt Woodman belonged, he selected for the front line. As Mingus wanted to record with Miles Davis album Bluemoods, which contained four jazz standards, he inquired of Teddy Charles if he wanted to take over the arrangements for three of the pieces, Nature Boy, There's No You and Easy Living. Mingus himself wrote the arrangement for Alone Together and chose the then largely unknown drummer Elvin Jones from Detroit for the rhythm section.
About the realization of Bluemoods session speculated Davis biographer Nisenson that Davis and Mingus, who knew each other since Charlie Parker's guest performance in 1946 in California, although human were not very close, Mingus but Miles Davis in the days of his heroin addiction borrowed money and this had wanted to have paid back in the form of a session for his label debut.
Dannie Richmond, who later became the longtime Mingus confidant, recalled that Miles Mingus had advised against it: " He was crazy, that would not work. " The problems began with the fact that Davis did not want to walk two blocks to the studio, because a ride he had been promised. The taxi driver, who then drove him, he said that he hoped not to have to beat Mingus on the mouth.
Teddy Charles later recalled in an interview that it almost came in the studio to a falling out between the musicians, before it turned out that the discrepancies due to error of the copyists were based, as it turned out when comparing the Arrangement; Mingus did, however, continue to blame Elvin Jones. After that, a palpable tension would have prevailed in the studio, which affected the future course of the session.
In his memoirs, Miles Davis said, "something was not running in this session, nothing was going on properly and so the whole lacked the fire. " Miles Davis did not know whether it was because of the arrangements, " but something was decidedly wrong. "
Miles Davis said after the publication of disparaging remarks about the album, saying that some of the compositions by Mingus and Teo Macero from this workshop phase were " something like boring modern paintings. Some are depressed. " Mingus responded angrily in an open letter that was published on November 30, 1955 by Down Beat:
Reception
Metronome Yearbook 1957 According to the Bluemoods was one of the best jazz albums of the year 1956.
Bluemoods For Alex Henderson as an excellent example of cool jazz and as a proof that Miles Davis ' conception of cool jazz was not lightweight and unemotional, but allowed that cool jazz and hard bop were equal components of what Charlie Parker had created. Even if not all the musicians of this session were pronounced Cool- musicians would Bluemoods thoroughly the characteristics of cool jazz - subtlety, restraint and understatement. It was a very laid-back, friendly and tranquil game attitude prevalent.
Critical to the Davis biographer Peter Wießmüller expressed to the musical result of this session, "Who from [ ... ] studio meeting between the two enfants terribles recognized as the jazz scene, Miles and Mingus expected anything extraordinary, will be disappointed. [ ... ] Despite ideal conditions did not succeed in this formation, implement here already recognizable idiosyncratic expressive world of Charlie Mingus. " Wießmüller makes this especially" Elvin Jones ' hanging - sluggish rhythm and Britt Woodman's ponderous solo trombone " responsible. However, the author points out Miles Davis ' game in Easy Living and especially Nature Boy in the Harmon mute sound in which this " already fully developed his skills as an improviser ballad " show. Mingus convince solo " with expressive volume and artistic ' guitar technique ' " and interpret " the emancipatory aspirations of his Baßspiels as melody voice. " Teddy Charles understand it convincingly, " to transmit the tradition Monks in crystal-clear, percussive intonation on the vibraphone. " In the most successful sword, alone Together, the " applied topically and improvisatory on such supporting structures " was. The Mingus biographer Horst Weber and Gerd Filtgen are critical of the album: " The structuring accompanying work and design powerful crystal clear Soli of vibraphonist Teddy Charles, it is due to that the music does not fall completely apart. "
Richard Cook and Brian Morton gave the album in the Penguin Guide to Jazz only three stars, but it described as " very attractive Session" and however raised towards the unusual instrumentation, which was never used again. Exceptional is the " deep melancholy " version of Nature Boy who take a look at the " versunkende poetry in future years ."
Krin Gabbard is of the opinion that it was hardly possible for today's listeners to hear the tension between Davis and Mingus.
Editorial notes
Brian Priestley quoted from the liner notes that Bluemoods the wider squeeze on the 12-inch LP, the "grooves wider and deeper ", recording more volume and the bass was more depth than an EP; Therefore, it was published as the first 12-inch LP of small labels, even if the four titles would have fit well on a 10 -inch EP. The album was recorded in the 12 - CD compilation The Complete Debut Recordings 1990.