Blues & Roots

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Blues & Roots
Studio album by Charles Mingus
Released	1959
Recorded	February 4, 1959
Genre	Avant-garde jazz Post-bop
Length	38:49
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer	Nesuhi Ertegün
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Charles Mingus chronology
Mingus in Wonderland (1959) Blues & Roots (1959) Mingus Ah Um (1959)

Blues & Roots, an album by Charles Mingus, was recorded and released in 1959. It has been reissued twice as a CD, first by Atlantic Records, and then again by Rhino Entertainment in 1998.

Mingus explained the birth of this record in the album's liner notes:

This record is unusual—it presents only one part of my musical world, the blues. A year ago, Nesuhi Ertegün suggested that I record an entire blues album in the style of Haitian Fight Song (in Atlantic LP 1260), because some people, particularly critics, were saying I didn't swing enough. He wanted to give them a barrage of soul music: churchy, blues, swinging, earthy. I thought it over. I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing. So I agreed.

Contents 1 Reception 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 Sources

[edit] Reception

• Q (7/93, p.110) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...at his best he could drive his fellow musicians onwards and upwards with big bass playing and hoarse exhortations. Blues & Roots contains six servings of this brilliance..."

• Down Beat (1960) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...vital and important music...[Mingus] is outstanding in his solo work...this is something worth careful and thorough listening..."

[edit] Track listing

1. "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" – 5:39
2. "Cryin' Blues" – 4:58
3. "Moanin'" – 7:57
4. "Tensions" – 6:27
5. "My Jelly Roll Soul" – 6:47
6. "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too" – 6:37

   The 1998 Rhino CD reissue included these additional tracks:

7. "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" – 6:59 – alternate take
8. "Tensions" – 5:18 – alternate take
9. "My Jelly Roll Soul" – 11:25 – alternate take
10. "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too" – 6:47 – alternate take

All tracks composed by Charles Mingus. Recorded February 4, 1959 at Atlantic Studios in New York City.

[edit] Personnel

• Charles Mingus – bass
• John Handy – alto sax
• Jackie McLean – alto sax
• Booker Ervin – tenor sax
• Pepper Adams – baritone sax
• Jimmy Knepper – trombone
• Willie Dennis – trombone
• Dannie Richmond – drums
• Horace Parlan – piano, except for "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"
• Mal Waldron – piano on "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"
• Nesuhi Ertegün – producer
• Tom Dowd – recording engineer

[edit] Sources

• Sleeve notes to Atlantic Records CD reissue of Blues & Roots (Atlantic SD-1305-2)