The Clown (album)

Occupation

The Clown is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded City in the spring 1957 by Tom Dowd in New York and published in August 1957 by Atlantic Records. The successor of the Atlantic album Pithecanthropus Erectus - plate confirmed Mingus avant-garde position in the former jazz scene. Mingus is first supplemented by his " alter ego " Dannie Richmond on drums, with whom he worked preferably in the subsequent period.

The album

On the album there are two classic Mingus compositions: Haitian Fight Song and Reincarnation of a Lovebird.

The Blues Haitian Fight Song ( after Mingus also " African-American fight song " could be called ) begins with a bass solo and Mingus drives with his energetic bass playing with sudden rhythm and tempo changes Hadi and Knepper again Ahead ( all have solos except Richmond, Mingus also again in the second half). Richmond and Mingus work in the rhythm section together well.

Blues in Cee, the name speaks for itself, is a medium- fast jazz music Blues, manages its theme with an extremely reduced grade material (initially alone on the notes b and c based ). The piece that Mingus had written for Celia Nielsen, when she was still his wife, includes solos by Hadi, Legge, Mingus, Knepper.

Reincarnation of a Lovebird is by Mingus Charlie Parker ( called "Bird" ) remember, but does not allude to the personal style of Parker, but gives the feeling of Mingus for him in one piece, which is constructed in the song form AABA. After an introduction, resonate in the typical Bird passages, the subject is quite mysterious and presented laying back in unison by Knepper and Hadi. Then follow solos by Hadi, Legge and Knepper.

The Clown is one of improvisation played by Mingus ' experiments with seal from Konferenzier and writer Jean Shepherd and mostly accompanied by Knepper on trombone (but also Hadi, Legge have solos ) and commented that repeatedly interspersed quotations, reminiscent of circus music to. Mingus envisioned for his liner notes to tell the story of a clown who tried to entertain people like most jazz musician, but nobody likes until he is dead. My version ended that he blew the soul from the body, while the people laughed and had a good time in the end because they thought it would be part of the show. In the spoken text of the Shepherd is slightly modified: the clown increases in ever more daring numbers to make people laugh and had an accident with his greatest success.

Album pieces

On the De Luxe edition of Rhino Entertainment, 2000, see also recorded at the same session as the pieces 1, 2 and 3:

  • "Passions of a Woman Loved " ( Mingus ) - 9:52

(these bonus tracks were previously published on the album Tonight at Noon ).

Recorded on February 15, 1957 ( 4) and 12 March 1957. All compositions are by Mingus. The record was released in 1961 and reissued in 1984. In addition to the first recording session, a first ( rejected ) version of Reincarnation of a Lovebird was recorded, which was not yet published.

Record label Genre Pithecanthropus Erectus (album) Mingus Three
769083
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