Search - Charles Mingus :: Mingus Plays Piano

The Most Hauntingly Beautiful Album I Own

Scott Hercher | Scranton, PA | 03/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can only listen to this album maybe once a year. The melodies, the chords, the feelings it invokes are so beautiful, so haunting that when I listen to this I can't get the sounds out of my head for a couple of days. I usually have absolutely no clue what to put on the turntable (I have the vinyl reissue from 1982, which regrettably doesn't have all the songs on this CD) after I've listened to this, so I sit in the dark, unable to put on the light and examine the shelves.



Mingus was certainly one of the greatest jazz bassists ever, a notable composer and bandleader, but I think this album, his piano playing, really highlights his musical genius. Most instruments in jazz don't really lend themselves to solo performance. The dynamic range of the piano does, however, and here you can hear Mingus' compositional ideas in an intimate setting in their full complexity, and in their barest forms at the same time."

Mingus Alone...

B. Bowman | Jersey, United States | 02/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this CD one week ago and already I've listened to it countless times. Although I'm not a pianist and can't comment on the technical aspects of Mingus' playing as others have, I'm impressed with his improvisational skills. Its amazing to me that he was able to create this music spontaneously and on piano, which was not his primary instrument. I saw a documentary on Mingus years ago which focused on his gruff and often angry character, but as with all geniuses he was not one-dimensional. This CD captures Mingus' sensitive side. The introspective nature of his playing on songs like "Old Portrait" (which the liner notes state he wrote about his divorce from his first wife) really caught my ear. The intimate and reflective tone of this music has made this CD an instant favorite of mine, and I can already tell that this is a disc I will be playing over and over for years. I think pianists may be more critical of the manner in which Mingus played and the unorthodox chord voicings he used on this recording, but I think that if the music is listened to and absorbed without that in mind it can be appreciated for what it is: a beautiful expression from a creative genius. If you love solo piano it doesn't get any better than this."

Piano technical skill of mingus

J. gray | billings, mt | 01/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I myself am a jazz pianist and this repeated commenting on charles mingus's technical skill tells me just how shallow and no artistic the jazz community has become in this day and age. I guess leadbelly isnt worth a damn either because he cant play guitar like Django Rhinehardt. Jazz always has been,and always will be about what you have to say as a human being. The technical skill is a tool that is refined over a lifetime. If technical demonstrations are all that matters the one can go simply watch a carpenter build a house or listen to good classical music composer(although a large portion was improvised originally by the masters such as listz and chopin). Thats all ill say on that so as not to sound too inflammatory which mingus was often accused of; now i understand why at age 40. peace jg"