adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

This is Charles Mingus' music in "low-resolution", in other words what is left of the masterpieces created by the great African-American composer and double bass player after the "harmonic selection" they went through. The strategy the two musicians adopted to personalize the repertoire of Mingus is the same as the one he pursued in the original version of Pithecanthropus Erectus : the theme unfolds in sections that vary in harmony, and improvisation evolves on a simple, bare harmonic structure made of few bars. This approach allows more freedom  and the chance to break free from a traditional music context, and actually deploy all the interpretative techniques Alfonso and Maier developed when researching the instrument. The idea of recording a tribute to Mingus was brought up in 2019 on the occasion of his 40th death anniversary. This project is also the ideal sequel to the artistic journey the duo started with "Naked Songs", an album released in 2014 by Palomar Records.

Track List

1) Dizzy Moods
2) Duke Ellington's Sound of Love
3) Nouroog
4) East Coasting
5) Celia
6) Orange Was the Colour of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk
7) Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi U.S.A.
8) Jump Monk
9) Eclipse

All compositions by Charles Mingus 

Personnel

Matteo Alfonso (piano)
Giovanni Maier (double bass) 

Recording Data

Recorded by Diego Piotto on 24th March 2023 at Art Music Recording Studio, Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza), Italy; mixed and mastered by Luca Bulgarelli in 2024