Jax Jazz Fest - Mingus Score

[jmain]

Me and my wife went last weekend. Some old school and some smooth jazz. Saw the Mingus Big Band. (Didn't play this though.)

One of the venues was over-booked for Gerald Albright, Jeff Golub and some other cats. Meanwhile, we checked out the the exhibit on segregation in US schools. I was stoked to see this (as you can tell. But the smile left as we went back to other parts of the exhibit.)


Here's a close up. Pretty cool!!

[jmain]

Hmm, I thought it was pretty cool.

[Manticore Guy]

That's a sick find. The Mingus Big Band are also incredible, I saw them in March.

[Mingus Fingus]

to anyone living near dc...this is something i found out a couple of months ago. the library of congress has a mingus collection which includes hundreds of original scores in mingus' hand. it is pretty amazing to be able to check out almost any of his tunes in his handwriting. there are also a lot of pieces included that i had never even heard of...lots of string quartets and tunes that just didnt get recorded. i could have spend a couple of days going through all the stuff...the only problem is you can't photocopy anything without sue mingus' written permission.

adam.

[TroyK]

I know a guy who will remain nameless for his own protection who owns the original oil painting that is the cover of Uh Um. I walked into his apartment once and it was on the wall. I looked at it for a while, like running into someone you went to high school with in some other state. But after staring for a minute I knew what it was. He bought it at an auction in New Jersey. He didn't tell me for how much, but said that no one else who was there seemed to understand what it was.

He found the artist, who was still alive and either talked or wrote to him about it. He went to Columbia and hung out with a lot of the jazz guys. Also painted what became the cover of Time Out and maybe Jazz Samba. Definitely a few others.

It's cool to stare at something like that.

-tk

[waltzfordebby]

Originally Posted by TroyK

He found the artist, who was still alive and either talked or wrote to him about it. He went to Columbia and hung out with a lot of the jazz guys. Also painted what became the cover of Time Out and maybe Jazz Samba. Definitely a few others.

It's cool to stare at something like that.

-tk

awesome story.
yay for columbia :-D

[jmain]

Originally Posted by TroyK

I know a guy who will remain nameless for his own protection who owns the original oil painting that is the cover of Uh Um. I walked into his apartment once and it was on the wall. I looked at it for a while, like running into someone you went to high school with in some other state. But after staring for a minute I knew what it was. He bought it at an auction in New Jersey. He didn't tell me for how much, but said that no one else who was there seemed to understand what it was.

He found the artist, who was still alive and either talked or wrote to him about it. He went to Columbia and hung out with a lot of the jazz guys. Also painted what became the cover of Time Out and maybe Jazz Samba. Definitely a few others.

It's cool to stare at something like that.

-tk

That's an awesome story, Troy. Must've been a trip to be staring at that. Def cool for that guy.


I knew the story behind Fables of Fabus, but it just hit home harder being in the middle of that exhibit.

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by TroyK

He didn't tell me for how much, but said that no one else who was there seemed to understand what it was.



-tk

That's great, and even cooler that it now belongs to someone who does get it in his soul.

I'm trying to remember the last time I've gone a week without listening to that album. It's been many years. I can't think of another album that's had that kind of staying power for me.

[TroyK]

I saw the aformentioned and un-named guy at my gig last night and told him I had outted him on-line. He plays a bit of piano, but isn't really a musician, but he is one of the biggest jazz fans and vinyl freaks I know. Great guy and he definitely is a loving home to that piece of jazz history.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

That's great, and even cooler that it now belongs to someone who does get it in his soul.

I'm trying to remember the last time I've gone a week without listening to that album. It's been many years. I can't think of another album that's had that kind of staying power for me.

One of my favorites!!

[Marcus Johnson]

I know I posted this here before, but it just came back in my memory... one day a few years ago, I listened to Mingus Ah Um in the morning after I had the house to myself.... not the first time I've done that. So later that day, I make my way to the gig on the west side, and Roscoe Wright, my friend and great drummer, says to me, "Oh yeah.... John's here, he's playing with us tonight". I thought "cool, John Z, (a great local saxophonist) will be joining us". So we get into it, and after a couple of tunes, up to the bandstand strolls... John Handy! That was one of the great surprises of my life.... he played the whole night with us. It was kind of surreal, having listened to him with Mingus on CD that morning, and then unexpectedly gigging with him that night. When that sound came out on the first tune..... pure chicken skin for me.

[TroyK]

That story is worth re-telling.

[jmain]

Wow Marcus!!