Charles Mingus - Jazz In Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Seldon Vol.5

2022 release

Charles Mingus' Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Seldon from 1973 is a fine archival jazz surprise released during a year full of them -- think John Coltrane's Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album. This five disc series captures the great bassist and composer and a hybrid quintet during a weeklong workshop residency in Detroit captured in live radio broadcasts. The Strata Concert Gallery was an essential Detroit space founded by Kenny and Barbara Cox in a Motor City jazz scene that included the Contemporary Jazz Quintet (Kenny's band), Tribe, Sphere, the Lyman Woodard Organization, Ron English, and more. This broadcast was hosted by drummer and producer R.J. "Bud" Spangler on the city's public radio station, WDET-FM 101.9. The tapes were in the care of Hermione Brooks, wife of the late Detroit master drummer Roy Brooks. In 2017, she and Ms. Cox took them to DJ Amir's Brooklyn-based 180 Proof Records, which co-released them with BBE.

This performance was captured during an opening night, three-hour concert on February 13. In addition to Mingus, Brooks anchors the rhythm section, while fellow Detroit hard bopper Joe Gardner holds down the trumpet chair. The remainder includes pianist Don Pullen and saxophonist John Stubblefield. The concert marks the only existing document of this band, making the set a wildcard entry in the Mingus catalog. The sound quality is better than acceptable, but hardly pristine. Due to the relaxed nature of the residency, this band plays an energetic, hard-swinging show rooted in blues and hard bop, through customarily long, sweeping tunes with more than a few openings for out jazz. The opener, "Pithecanthropus Erectus," is massively grooving, with a brooding midsection that allows Pullen room to indulge his vanguard chops. Stubblefield walks the tightrope between blues and modal jazz while Brooks and Mingus swing like mad.

Other highlights include the waltz "Dizzy Profile," which is unique to this release, and "Noddin' Ya Head Blues," which provides excellent solo space for Mingus, Pullen, and Brooks -- who delivers a short but wonderful vocalized break via a musical saw. Stubblefield and Gardner both shine on "Peggy's Blue Skylight," which also features one of Brooks' homemade creations (he invented several), the "breathatone," which significantly altered the pitch of any drum it was applied to. The version of "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Then Blue Silk" commences by bringing the vanguard in early, then moving off into small-group Ellingtonian swing with a killer piano break. In addition to the music, disc two includes a long informal Spangler interview with Brooks and assorted other commentary. There are also alternate takes of "Celia" and "Dizzy Profile." The 16-page booklet contains rare photos and essays. This band was assembled for this residency and was short-lived; the music isn't in the Holy Grail league, but Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Seldon is a necessary document in Motor City jazz history and the Mingus discography.

Thom Jurek