Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland
1959 live album by Charles Mingus
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Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland is a live album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on the United Artists label in September of that year.[1][2][3] The original release was titled Jazz Portraits, and a subsequent edition was titled Wonderland, leading to the combined title of Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland.
| Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | September 1959[1][2] | |||
| Recorded | January 16, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 44:11 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Alan Douglas | |||
| Charles Mingus chronology | ||||
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| Jazz Portraits Cover | ||||
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| Wonderland Cover | ||||
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Composition
Both "Alice's Wonderland" and "Nostalgia in Times Square" were originally written for the 1959 John Cassavetes film Shadows as part of a complete soundtrack. However, Mingus’ music was largely replaced in the final version of the film. A partial reconstruction of the soundtrack was released in 2015 as the compilation album Shadows.
A reworked version of "Nostalgia in Times Square," featuring vocals by Honi Gordon, was recorded during Mingus' 1959 Mingus Dynasty sessions and included as a bonus track on reissues of that album, titled "Strollin'".
Although "Nostalgia in Times Square" was never a major part of Mingus’ repertoire, it has since become a jazz standard, widely performed and recorded by other musicians.[4] Notably, the jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood frequently perform the song, often as part of a medley with Sun Ra’s “Angel Race.”[5]
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow called the music "advanced bop that looks toward the upcoming innovations of the avant-garde and is frequently quite exciting".[6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [8] |
Track listing
- All compositions by Charles Mingus except as indicated
- "Nostalgia in Times Square" – 12:18
- "I Can't Get Started" (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) – 10:08
- "No Private Income Blues" – 12:51
- "Alice's Wonderland" – 8:54
- Recorded at the Nonagon Art Gallery in New York City on January 16, 1959
Personnel
- Charles Mingus – bass
- John Handy – alto saxophone
- Booker Ervin – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 3 & 4)
- Richard Wyands – piano
- Dannie Richmond – drums