Mingus at Monterey by Charles Mingus

'Mingus at Monterey' by Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus was in an Ellington mood at Monterey. For half of his 1964 concert at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the great jazz bassist-composer played beloved melodies by the Duke. But the second half was filled with two long ones written by Mingus, “Meditations on Integration” and “Orange was the Color of her Dress.”

The new reissue includes both halves. The Ellingtonia, including “I’ve Got it Bad,” “Take the ‘A’ Train” and “Mood Indigo,” were performed with respectful, sometimes heated panache. With the playful “Orange,” Mingus assimilated a swatch of jazz history from the muggy tempo of New Orleans through abstractions of the blues. “Meditations” rises to majestic cacophony with a big band—including four saxophones, three trumpets, a trombone, a