Saturday, January 8, 2022

Blue Moods - Myth & Wisdom (January 2022 Posi-Tone Records)

All too often we encounter the sad reality that the songwriting of many influential jazz artists, who are regularly proclaimed as masters by the critics, languish in relative obscurity, while their compositions remain recondite, or at best, largely unfamiliar to a vast segment of contemporary audiences. In the hope of remedying this situation and creating new interest in these artists, Posi-Tone is initiating a series of “Blue Moods” releases. These introductory programs are focused on a single artist to re-present some of their vital works to a new group of listeners. 

This 2022 premier volume spotlights the compositions of Charles Mingus, and celebrates the “Myth & Wisdom” of his masterful musical artistry. These collaborative releases will feature the members of our musical repertory theatre company performing succinctly focused and interpretive reenactments to highlight some of the “great plays” of these under appreciated songwriters.

1. Better Get It In Your Soul 04:52
2. Nostalgia In Times Square 05:07
3. Tonight At Noon 04:31
4. Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love 05:50
5. Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue 07:15
6. Peggy's Blue Skylight 05:06
7. Pussy Cat Dues 05:38
8. Pithecanthropus Erectus 07:53
9. Portrait 06:26
10. Reincarnation Of A Lovebird 07:52

Diego Rivera - tenor saxophone
Art Hirahara - piano
Boris Kozlov - bass
Joe Strasser - drums
David Kikoski - piano 5, 8, 9

Marc Free - producer
Nick O’Toole - engineer
recorded June 4-5, 2021 at Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, NY
mixed & mastered at Woodland Studio, Lake Oswego, OR
photography by Anna Yatskevich
package design by Alex Koehler