Charles Mingus - Mingus Plays Piano (1963/2017) [Hi-Res]

Bassist and composer Charles Mingus is one of the most radical figures in American music. Throughout the '50s, he worked as a sideman with legendary players Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and more. In the '60s, he gained recognition as a bandleader, often followed by controversy for making strong-minded statements in the press about race, politics and stodgy music critics. While Mingus received many honors posthumously as well as during his career, perhaps his greatest achievement was transcending the restrictive label of jazz.

„Mingus Plays Piano“, released just a few months after his masterpiece The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady, is the only record to feature Mingus performing on his instrument of choice for composing. From the opening track, appropriately titled "Myself When I Am Real," Mingus shrugs off any virtuosic pretensions of solo albums and stakes out more introspective territory. These trance-like, poetic musings reveal a tenderness rarely associated with Mingus, reminiscent of Erik Satie's piano works and Art Tatum's free rhythmic style.

„Mingus Plays Piano is one of the most beautiful recordings, period. It is a on its own terms perhaps a more personal statement than even the masterpiece The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. While indulging in absolutely none of the ear-straining superficial ugliness of much of the “new jazz” music of the period, it manages to attain to the personal exposure and honesty to which many New Thing-ers aspired. Anything by Mingus is worth hearing; Mingus Plays Piano should be in the first rank — so far from a mere novelty as to be one of this great artist’s finest hours.“ (AllAboutJazz)

„This album is unique in Mingus' enormous catalog. As the title indicates, the famous bassist takes to the ivories solo to give life to his dazzling improvisational art. At first it seems odd to hear Mingus without one of his trademark interactive and exploratory ensembles. But the sensibility that he brings to this collection of piano pieces bears all the signs of the composer's genius. In the first piece, "Myself When I Am Real," turbulence and aching beauty merge in Mingus' spontaneous unfolding of phrases. Such standards as "Body and Soul" and "Memories of You" are given personal, harmonically intriguing readings that blend in seamlessly with a Mingus original like "Old Portrait." In many ways, it is a treat to hear the artist working in this pared-down, quieter atmosphere, as it allows one to concentrate more intently upon the range and compositional brilliance of this incomparable figure.“ (AMG)

Charles Mingus, piano, vocals

Recorded July 30, 1963 at RCA Studios, New York
Produced by Bob Thiele

Digitally remastered