31 March 2016

Charles Mingus Sextet in Oslo 1964




















The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) is in the process of digitising its huge archive of programmes dating back several decades. Among the items to be uncovered is this gem which should be of huge interest to jazz enthusiasts.

It is the Charles Mingus Sextet recorded at the University hall at the University of Oslo on 12 April 1964. A very classic Mingus line-up on this date:

Charles MINGUS, bass,
Eric DOLPHY, alto sax,
Clifford JORDAN, tenor sax,
Johnny COLES, trumpet,
Jaki BYARD, piano
Dannie RICHMOND, drums

The tunes:

1. Goodbye, Eric Dolphy, hurry back
2. Orange was the Colour of her Dress, then Blue Silk
3. Ow/Parkeriana
4. Take the A train

Altogether close to one hour of music and it is a particular delight to see Eric Dolphy in action!

More items to come from this archive as I find them!

11 comments:

  1. seen this before but it has been improved ! thanks for posting - magical - makes you wish you could go back in time and also reminds me how this incredible music was NOT accepted in the US - Mingus and Roach suffered because they made political statements and yet the music still burns decades later because these men had something important to say that transcended even their own exceptional musical talent

    of course seeing Dolphy at his prime also makes one sad that he was to die alone in such tragic racist circumstances not that long after this- treated like a junkie - reminding us that even Europe was far from the idyllic escape off stage

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow - welch herrliches Geschenk. Not only for me but especially for a friend who's the greatest fan of Eric Dolphy and Charles Mingus (and Coltrane, Waldron + Taylor) I've ever encountered.
    He even wrote/compiled a book: "Eric A. Dolphy (20. Juni 1928 - 29. Juni 1964): die Freiheit der Klänge : eine Chronik".
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had an old VHS of this, and I haven´t been able to watch it in many years... This is absolutely fantastic, kinabalu. Thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brilliant, thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you. Watching & listening now - this is excellent, and I hope there's more of this quality in the archive.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cheers, kinabalu....don't go much in for music videos, but this is a priority for my tiny collection. Love this Mingus small group line-up!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh yeah! Thanks a lot, man.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Superb - and a total treat ! Many heartfelt thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great, thanks. 30 years ago 'the great concert of charles mingus' was hardly ever off my turntable; it's taken me a while to re-discover the joys of that tour, nice to have this less well-known example.

    ReplyDelete