Charles Mingus: Blues & Roots

Charles Mingus, Jackie Mclean, John Handy, Booker Ervin, Pepper Adams, Jimmy Knepper, Willie Dennis, Horace Parlan, Mal Waldron, Dannie Richmond, Clarence Shaw, Shafi Hadi, Wade Legge, Wynton Kelly, Henry Grimes

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting / Cryin' Blues / Moanin' / Tensions / My Jelly Roll Soul / E's Flat A's Flat Too / We Got Blue (Take 1) / Stella By Starlight (Take 5) / Untitled Original Composition (Take 5) / Autumn In New York / Long Ago And Far Away / Joldi / We Got Blue (Take 2)

This release presents Charles Mingus' complete original album 'Blues & Roots' (Atlantic SD1305), which was almost entirely based on the blues. Mostly improvised on the spot (Mingus didn't explain the basics of each tune to the musicians until the last minute), 'Blues & Roots' was highly praised during this time, and has since become a true classic. As a bonus, the master takes - and the alternate to the blues - recorded during a rare studio session produced by Mingus in 1957 for one of his favorite sidemen, Shafi Hadi (apart from Mingus and Hadi, the group also featured Pepper Adams and Dannie Richmond).