A Monument of Musicianship
Piet De Ridder | Gent, Belgium | 04/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Mingus European Tour '64 generated some of the very best live music mankind is capable of. This is a set which should have been included in the space vessel to Mars. Some recordings capture human creativity at its very best and among these, 'Revenge' sits at the very top. This Mingus album is my all time favourite work of art. 5 stars doesn't even come close, it deserves a whole galaxy."
The wonderful 64 Quintet with one major oversight
Sky Mann | California, USA | 05/15/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"By now well documented on bootleg recordings, official releases and DVD the Charles Mingus sextet/quintet active in the spring of 1964 was a virtuosic power house that can be enjoyed on several different levels. The Salle Wagram concert in Paris documented here is typical of what the group proclaimed on its many other engagements throughout Europe in April of 1964. Long pieces with changing tempos and moods, extended solos and lots of passion and fury. "Peggy's Blue Skylight" differs a bit from other versions I've heard from this tour in a just under two minute semi rubato intro that features Dolphy on alto and Jordan playing counter lines prior to entering the head of the tune. Jordan sounds particularly strong during "Fables of Faubus" and as usual we have the driving force of the "Almighty Three" (Byard, Richmond, Mingus) keeping it swinging so hard you can't help but crack a smile. This release is a must for compleatests but I think I'd recommend the following night at Theatre de Champs-Elysees The Great Concert of Charles Mingus or perhaps the recent DVD release of recordings Jazz Icons: Charles Mingus Live in '64 from around this same time before exploring this concert.
The one tragedy and missed opportunity on Revenge is the sound quality of "So Long Eric". It sounds as though either the remaster engineer used an LP master without deemphasis or had the mis-guided idea to add high end to the original tape. The result is a shrill, un-listenable mess. This used to sound good on previous "bootleg" releases like the three LP set, The Great Charles Mingus Concert (Prestige 34001). I was hoping to retire my LP but instead I will go to it for this song instead of the "remaster" on Revenge. I was relieved to find that the rest of the Revenge set does not have this glaring sound quality error so this is worth getting for the rest of the music with sound quality typical of the other dates released from this tour. Kind of sad when the "official" release falls short of the bootleg version especially for something like sound quality. Note that the CD reissue of The Great Charles Mingus Concert (Verve B0002860-02) includes "So Long Eric" from the Theatre de Champs-Elysees show instead of the Salle Wagram as was included in the LP release mentioned above so I'm unaware of a decent sounding "So Long Eric" from Salle Wagram other than on LP. Also note that Coles is heard only on the first half of "So Long Eric" as he took ill during this show and did not perform for the remainder of the tour."