The Western
Jazz Presenters Network, a consortium of 25 presenting organizations, will
celebrate the legacy of the iconoclastic jazz legend Charles Mingus through a
series of concerts to be presented in Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Tijuana and
Portland, Oregon. The auspicious occasion by the majestic Mingus Dynasty
celebrates the historic 1957 Tijuana Moods recording.
Mingus
Dynasty, which rarely tours in the U.S., will feature: tenor saxophonist Wayne
Escoffery, alto saxophonist/flautist Brandon Wright, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin,
trombonist Ku-umba Frank Lacy, pianist Theo Hill, bassist Boris Kozlov, and
drummer Adam Cruz.
While
considered one of Mingus' masterworks, the Tijuana Moods album has not been
played
in its
entirety since the formation of Dynasty shortly after Mingus' death in 1979,
and the
performance
featured an all-alumni group spearheaded by the exuberant Dannie Richmond and
arranger Jimmy Knepper. The albums' genesis came from a trip to Mexico in the
late '50s by Mingus who reflected, "...with the sting of tequila, salt and
lime in my mouth and burning my nostrils, I decided to benefit musically from
this experience and set out to compose and re-create what I felt and saw around
me."
Considered
one of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles
Mingus was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and
composer. He is often mentioned alongside Duke Ellington as one of the most
important composers in jazz history. Active from the 1950s through his death in
1979, Mingus created a rich repertoire of jazz standards and an impressive
catalog of major recordings, and fostered generations of musicians who had
their apprenticeship in his band.
After his
death, Mingus' widow, Sue, continued the Mingus Big Band and the smaller
Dynasty band, which draws its musicians from first-chair players in the larger
ensemble. The big band -- and on occasion Mingus Dynasty -- plays Mingus' music
every Monday night at one of NYC's most important jazz venues, the Jazz
Standard, and includes some of the top jazz musicians in New York.
Legendary
jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus Jr. was born at the Camp Little Army
Hospital in Nogales on April 22, 1922. His father, a sergeant, was stationed at
the camp with his wife and two daughters who were born at Camp Little before
him. Although the family soon left this segregated camp for a new life in the
Watts area of South Central Los Angeles, the birth of this jazz great is
reminder of the legacy of African Americans in southern Arizona.
While rumors
perpetuate of Mingus visiting Nogales and playing in clubs in Sonora, there is
no proof of this romantic notion. But he did spend time in Cuernavaca, Mexico
seeking a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and died there on Jan. 5, 1979.
Nevertheless, Mingus revisited this border town in spirit through projects
generated by southern Arizona music fans and funded by the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
"Jazz
on the Border: The Mingus Project" was produced in April 1993 by the
Tucson Jazz Society and the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce. It
included youth education, a performance of Mingus' Epitaph including the world
premiere of a long-lost movement from that masterwork, and free concerts on both
sides of the border.
The Santa
Cruz Advocates for the Arts was formed in 2007 to renew the celebration of
Mingus' legacy by producing the annual Charles Mingus Hometown Music Festival
around his birthday, and by building The Mingus Memorial Park at the former
entrance to Camp Little at Western and Bejarano streets. The park is a
public/private partnership, the City of Nogales having donated the land,
infrastructure and upkeep. A pocket
oasis of plants and art, the park is easily transformed into a performance
facility which may be used by other local non-profits as well.
Dan
Atkinson, a leading jazz presenter for UC San Diego and the Athenaeum,
conceived of the Tijuana Moods project as a way to strengthen ties with Mexico
and the neighboring border city of Tijuana. "We live here at the busiest
border crossing in the world, where the 8th largest city in the US meets the
3rd largest metropolitan area in Mexico. In a region where the US and Mexico
are constantly exchanging influence in every sector, what better way to express
this reality than to present an American jazz giant's creative reflections on
Tijuana, and to see this music performed there for the first time ever by his
own legacy band?"
"Charles
Mingus has cast an imposing influence over post war modern jazz and Dynasty
musically and politically speaks to the heart of his various ensembles. Dan
Atkinson is to be commended for initiating this project, and Network Director
Yvonne Ervin for collaborating with the Nogales community and network
partners," concludes PDX Jazz Executive Artistic Director Don Lucoff.
Mingus
Dynasty on Tour is presented by WJPN and funded in part by
WESTAF Tour
West, The Bright Moments Fund and the Oregon Cultural Trust.
Jan. 19:
Tucson, AZ, HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival, Fox Theatre
Jan. 20:
Phoenix, AZ, Musical Instrument Museum
Jan. 21:
Tijuana, Baja CA, Mexico; CECUT Cultural Center
Jan. 22: San
Diego CA, TSRI Auditorium (Athenaeum Jazz at TSRI series)
Jan. 23:
Portland OR, Revolution Hall (PDX Jazz)
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