Beneath the Underdog

The music of Charles Mingus
BlueConcept (2019)

Tracklist

  1. Tuning the Nonet
  2. Fables of Faubus
  3. Trombone – Alisa Klein
  4. Boogie Stop Shuffle
  5. Vocal – Anette von Eichel
  6. Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love
  7. Altosax – Kristina Brodersen
  8. Open Letter To Duke
  9. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
  10. Jelly Roll
  11. Portrait
  12. Monanin’
  13. Eclipse

Musicians

Anette von Eichel – vocals
Ralph Himmler – trumpet
Kristina Brodersen – saxes
Johannes Müller – saxes
Alisa Klein – trombone
Arnulf Ochs – guitar
Christoph Mudrich – piano, arrangements
Dirk Kunz – bass
Dirik Schilgen – drums

Album Info

Recorded live, mixed and mastered by Christian Heck at Loft Studio, Cologne.

The bassist Charles Mingus, who passed away in 1979 at the age of only 56, left behind more than 300 compositions, including a monumental work of over 4,000 measures, as well as some songs that he wrote lyrics for himself. These, along with some of his instrumental hits, have been arranged by the Saarbrücken-based pianist and arranger Christoph Mudrich into a suite. He has found an ideal ensemble for Mingus’ compositional work in the relatively rare nonet lineup.

The concert at LOFT is the final part of the production, which is created in the studio there in the days leading up to it. Therefore, it’s not the classic two-set concert, but rather a live recording of the suite lasting about an hour!