MINGUS BIG BAND RELEASE "THE CHARLES MINGUS CENTENNIAL SESSIONS VOL. 2"

From The GRAMMY® Winning Repertory Ensemble
Celebrating The Music Of The Legendary Charles Mingus
The Hippest Big Band In The Universe

​​The flagship repertory ensemble Mingus Big Band continues to honor the legacy of the iconic bassist and composer Charles Mingus with their latest release, THE CHARLES MINGUS CENTENNIAL SESSIONS VOL. 2.   The highly-anticipated follow up to the 2022 GRAMMY® Nominated first volume is being released today on all streaming platforms by Candid Records.
 
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Charles Mingus’ birth April 22, 2022, Mingus Big Band kicked off the celebrations in January of 2020 with the Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions.  Over several days at Sound on Sound Studios in Montclair, New Jersey, the world-renowned Mingus repertory ensemble made one of their highest quality recordings to date.
 
Engineer Rich Keller spearheaded the recording, with sessions directed by co-leaders Alex Foster and Boris Kozlov, the latter playing Mingus’s legendary 1927 Ernst Heinrich Roth double bass.  Highlights include vocals and narrations by Charles’ son Eric Mingus and a rotating lineup of first-class musicians in Mingus Big Band tradition, enabling the recordings to feature thirty-four musicians. 

The Mingus compositions for the sessions were carefully selected by the creative team and THE CHARLES MINGUS CENTENNIAL SESSIONS VOL. 2. features eight more performances captured during these momentous recording dates. 

Mingus Big Band performs exclusively the music of the legendary musician.  Building off the strengths of Mingus Dynasty septet Sue Mingus formed after Mingus’ death in 1979, and 1989’s Epitaph orchestra, in 1991 she created this 14-piece band to feature new arrangements of Mingus compositions in a larger band format that Mingus wanted, but was not always able to organize in his lifetime. The dynamic structure encourages deep explorations and ever-evolving ideations of Mingus Music and provides a platform for individual artistic expression.
 
Drawing from a rotation of the best established and rising musicians, Mingus Big Band is highly sought-after by festivals and prestigious venues around the world. The band has twelve recordings to its credit, seven nominated for Grammys, and one win in 2011 with Live at Jazz Standard. The band has become a New York institution for locals and tourists alike, with a weekly residency now in its fourth decade. From Thursday nights at Fez under Time Cafe, to Joe’s Pub, Iridium, and at Mingus Mondays at Jazz Standard until its pandemic closure and now at their new home DROM NYC every Wednesday.
​

   

Tracks:
​Peggy's Blue Skylight
   New York Sketchbook
   Song for Keki6
   GG Train
   Farewell Farwell
   Pithecanthropus Erectus
   She's Just Miss Popular Hybrid
   The Clown