There will be plenty of Mingus among us – though, sadly, not Mingus Amungus – in the coming months thanks to the Stanford Lively Arts Series.
The organization’s winter-spring lineup includes three Mingus-related shows. The first, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday in Dinkelspiel Auditorium spotlights Mingus Dynasty, which features Craig Handy (saxophone), Seamus Blake (saxophone), Kuumba Frank Lacy (trombone), Alex Sipiagin (trumpet), Kenny Drew Jr. (piano), Boris Kozlov (bass) and Donald Edwards (drums).
The series continues March 6 with the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble headlining a matinee performance and concludes April 13 with the Mingus Big Band, a group The Washington Post has dubbed “the best jazz orchestra in the world.”
Speaking of newspapers, the Mercury News’ Andrew Gilbert in previewing the series spoke with Mingus’ widow, Sue. Her thoughts on the man and his music are illuminating.
The perception of Mingus is that he was a virtuoso bass player, and it was inconceivable to a lot of people that there could be a Mingus band without Mingus, because his presence was so powerful on the bandstand. This has changed most radically since his death.
This is one of the things about Mingus music – he left a lot of open space for musicians to come in and play themselves, play their own identity, their own personality. This is what keeps the music particularly modern in a way that some of the other great music that's been left has not, because it moves with the times.
The musicians come in and bring in what's going on currently in their heads and their minds currently within, of course the structures, of what Charles has written. So there's both the discipline and the freedom.
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