Review
Passionate, earthy and committed, theres no ghost here, but rather Mingus in the Flesh. -- Paul De Barros, Seattle Times, June 2002
Rather than creating a museumlike memorial, Sue Mingus has extrapolated Mingus into the future. -- Owen Cordle, Jazz Times, June 2002
About the Artist
The critics said it couldnt be done: form a big band dedicated to the music of Charles Mingus and perform weekly in a New York City club. But in 1991, Sue Mingus, the widow of the composer/arranger/bassist, chose to dream the impossible dream and launched the Mingus Big Band at The Fez underneath the Time Café in the East Village. Over ten years later, the 14-piece group with a rotating personnel roster of top-notch musicians has beat the odds and continues to hold fort at the Fez on Thursday nights. In its quest to explore the music of Charles Mingus and celebrate his legacy, the Mingus Big Band plumbs the wealth of his repertoire, which has led to a remarkable series of seven recordings on Dreyfus Jazz. Mingus compositions are rarely performed by jazz bands, largely because they are so personal and because of their complexity. Yet, his music continues to grow in popularity thanks to the Mingus Big Band, which has toured extensively in Europe, Australia and the U.S. Its six CDs on Dreyfus ("The Essential Mingus Big Band," "Blues & Politics," "Que Viva Mingus," "Live in Time," "Gunslinging Birds" and "Nostalgia in Times Square") have not only sold well but have also garnered critical recognition (including Grammy nominations and NAIRD Indie Awards). The band itself regularly wins the Best Big Band awards in jazz magazines critics and readers polls. The personnel ranks comprise an all-star cast of jazz artists, including trumpeters Randy Brecker and Alex Sipiagin, saxophonists Craig Handy, John Stubblefield, Seamus Blake, Alex Foster, Vincent Herring and Ronnie Cuber, trombonists Conrad Herwig and Ku-umba Frank Lacy and pianist David Kikoski.