Aquarium Drunkard — If Charlie Christian was a gunslinger, there’d be a Whole Lot of dead copycats. Sure Charles Mingus was referring to Charlie Parker with the “dead copycats” line, but he could have just as well been talking about Charlie Christian. Christian wa... more info

Aquarium Drunkard — The album opens with Charles Mingus sputtering a percussive motif with one hand while the other riffs out an arabesque fantasia. There’s a duality present here, a tension of opposites. A fixed pitch struggles with an ecstatic melody and the battleg... more info

Destination Out — MEDITATION ON INNER PEACE Charles Mingus Music Written for Monterey, 1965. Not Heard… Played in its Entirety at UCLA  Sunnyside : 2005 (Rec. 1965) CM, bass; Hobart Dotson, trumpet; Lonnie Hillyer, trumpet; Jimmy Owens, flugelhorn; Charles McPherso... more info

Topix — It probably shouldn't come as too much a surprise that after a recent review in which I remarked on what I hoped might be a renaissance of the big band, what should arrive in the mail but another excellent album of big band music, Bernt Rosengren Big... more info

Guardian Music — Ronnie Scott's, LondonWhen the Mingus Big Band began its Thursday-night residency at New York's Time Cafe in 1991, Charles Mingus had been dead 12 years, and several members were familiar from the great composer/bassist's own groups. Two decades late... more info

Mercury News, California — From Ahmad Jamal to Charles Mingus, there's an album for everyone who has a hankering for jazz music. more info

Guardian Music — (Moochin' About)This is the second in what promises to be a definitive collection of jazz soundtracks to feature films. Following on from last year's film noir set, this five-CD box covers the late 50s and early 60s beat generation era, with eight sc... more info

Totally Fuzzy — In 1964, a jazz great tried his hand at his own record label. A new seven-CD box set of live recordings from Charles Mingus Enterprises, much of it previously unreleased, is a monumental example of how a genius dedicated his life to his art. Hear a ... more info

Destination Out — CINQ QUATRE MUSIS SACRUM Ted Curson Urge Fontana : 1966 TC, trumpet, pocket trumpet; Booker Ervin, tenor saxophone; Jimmy Woode, bass; Edgar Bateman, drums. At the time of this recording, Ted Curson was best known for his acclaimed stint with Charles... more info

Guardian Music — American jazz trombonist and big-band sideman who played with Stan Kenton and Benny GoodmanThe American jazz trombonist Eddie Bert has died aged 90. A big-band sideman, Broadway show musician and studio player, Bert also excelled as a small-group jaz... more info