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We dedicated this edition of the Galaxy to two special composers and performers, Charlie Mingus and Laura Nyro.
Charlie Mingus was a truly special jazz musician and composer, whose body of work stands with the best that jazz, and perhaps the world of music, has to offer. Already an established bassist who played with the likes of Duke Ellington, Red Norvo, Kid Ory, Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong (among others), he established his Jazz Workshop repertory company in 1955. Over the course of the next 20 years, he would produce some of the most striking musical works seen in the jazz world. Through this platform he also brought to the forefront some of the most interesting (and possibly underappreciated) talent in jazz, including Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, Dannie Richmond, Booker Ervin, and Horace Parlan. He had a fiery temper, and he always insisted on getting the best performances out of himself and his sidemen. He epitomizes the musical and aesthetic ideals that this radio show stands for. He would have been 75 years old on April 22.
Laura Nyro is perhaps best known for having her work performed by the likes of Barbara Streisand, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Fifth Dimension, but after an unsuccessful performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (only her 2nd major live performance, which also featured a certain Jimi Hendrix, as well as the Who, the Jefferson Airplane, the Byrds, Janis Joplin, and the Mamas and the Papas), she established a fairly successful career as a performer, and her songs continued to be covered by other established musicians. She initially retired in 1974, but continued to periodically record music (as recently as 1993). She, along with Joni Mitchell, was a major female exponent of the singer-songwriter style that was then just coming into popularity, and her performance style was a major influence on singers such as Rickie Lee Jones and Suzanne Vega. She passed away on April 9 at the age of 49.
Links are to Artist's Home Page, if one exists, or to a quality source of information. Otherwise, link is to Yahoo Search for information about the composer, performer, or other related information.
| Composer | Performer | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Martyn | Manin the Station | Pop | |||
| Solid Air | |||||
| Charlie Mingus | -w- extended Jazz Orchestra - 10 woodwinds (from piccolos to contrabass clarinets), brass including french horns and tubas, 6 basses and cello; conducted by Sy Johnson | The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers | Jazz | Columbia, 1972 | solos - Alto Sax - Charles McPherson, Tenor Sax - Bobby Jones, Trumpet - Lonnie Hillyer; originally titled "Once Upon a Time, There Was a Holding Corporation Called Old America" |
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan, Dannie Richmond, Shafi Hadi, Willie Dennis, Jimmy Knepper | Fables of Faubus | Columbia, 1959 | solos - tenor Sax - Booker Ervin, Shafi Hadi, piano - Horace Parlan, Mingus; | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Sir Roland Hanna, Dannie Richmond, Benny Golson, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Knepper, Theodore Cohen, Dick Williams | Gunslinging Bird | Columbia, 1960 | original title: If Charlie Parker Were a Gunslinger, Then There Would Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats; solos: piano - Hanna, trombone - Knepper, alto - Handy | ||
| -w- Jackie McLean, J. R. Monterose, Mal Waldron, Willie Jones | A Foggy Day | Atlantic, 1956 | recorded Jan. 30, 1956; composed by George and Ira Gershwin | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Sir Roland Hanna, Dannie Richmond, Benny Golson, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Knepper, Theodore Cohen, Dick Williams | Diane | Columbia, 1959 | Recorded November, 1959 | ||
| -w- Rolf Ericson, Dick Williams, Quentin Jackson, Don Butterfield, Jerome Richardson, Charles Mariano, Dick Hafer, Jaki Byard, Jay Berliner, Dannie Richmond | The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - A: Solo Dancer - Stop! Look! and Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!; B: Duet Solo Dancers - Hearts' Beat and Shades In Physical Embraces; C: Group Dancers - (Soul Fusion) Freewomen and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries; D: Trio and Group Dances - Stop! Look! And Sing Songs of Revolutions!; E: Single Solos and Group Dance - Saint and Sinner Join in Merriment on Battle Front; F: Group and Solo Dance - Of Love, Pain, and Passioned Revolt, then Farewell, My Beloved, 'til It's Freedom Day | Impulse, 1963 | Ballet; Recorded Jan. 20, 1963 | ||
| -w- Eddie Preston, Dick Williams, Britt Woodman, Don Butterfield, Eric Dolphy, Gerome Richardson, Dick Hafer, Booker Ervin, Jaki Byard, Walter Perkins | Freedom | Impulse, 1963 | Recorded Sept. 20, 1963; Mingus narrated, also featured group on backing vocals | ||
| -w- Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond, Clifford Jordan, Jaki Byard | Meditations on Integration | Prestige, 1964 | Recorded live, April 19, 1964, at the Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris, France; Dplphy plays both flute and bass clarinet; includes introduction by Mingus | ||
| -w- Jackie McLean, J. R. Monterose, Mal Waldron, Willie Jones | Pithecantropus Erectus | Atlantic, 1956 | Mingus called this a "jazz tone poem" about the development, or the rise and fall, of man. | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan, Dannie Richmond | Bird Calls | Columbia, 1959 | Recorded May, 1959 | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Sir Roland Hanna, Dannie Richmond, Benny Golson, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Knepper, Theodore Cohen, Dick Williams | Far Wells, Mill Valley | Columbia, 1959 | Recorded November 1, 1959 | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan, Dannie Richmond, Shafi Hadi, Willie Dennis, Jimmy Knepper | Better Git It In Your Soul | Columbia, 1959 | solos by Knepper (trombone) and Ervin (tenor). | ||
| Mingus on solo piano | She's Just Miss Popular Hybrid | Impulse, 1963 | Recorded July 30, 1963 | ||
| -w- John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan, Dannie Richmond | Goodbye Pork Pie Hat | Columbia, 1959 | |||
| -w- extended Jazz Orchestra - 10 woodwinds (from piccolos to contrabass clarinets), brass including french horns and tubas, 6 basses and cello; conducted by Alan Raph | The Chill of Death | Columbia, 1972 | Narrated by Mingus; alto solo by Charles McPherson; originally written in 1939. | ||
| Laura Nyro | Fifth Dimension | Stoned Soul Picnic | Pop | Bell | |
| Blood, Sweat and Tears | And When I Die | Columbia, 1969 | |||
| Fifth Dimension | Wedding Bell Blues | Bell | |||
| Three Dog Night | Eli's Coming | Dunhill/ABC | Recorded live, September 12, 1969 | ||
| Fifth Dimension | Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In | Pop | Bell | ||
| Blood, Sweat and Tears | Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie | Pop | Columbia, 1969 | uses primary melody of Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies" | |
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