Essentially, this is the complete set of
Mingus Revisited and Mercury's
Pre-Bird, recorded on May 24 and 25 in 1960. There are five tracks with a tentet that includes
Eric Dolphy,
Ted Curson,
Yusef Lateef,
Dannie Richmond,
Roland Hanna,
Joe Farrell, and
Jimmy Knepper,
Booker Ervin, and
Lorraine Cussen on vocals on "Weird Nightmare" and "Eclipse." There is a big band who recorded on the second day and includes all of the above except for
Ervin and
Cussen, but adds players like
Paul Bley on piano,
Bill Barron on saxophone, a full-on trumpet section that features not only
Curson but also
Marcus Belgrave,
Clark Terry,
Hobart Dotson, and
Richard Williams, and a trombone section with
Slide Hampton,
Eddie Bert, and
Charles "Majid" Greenlee. Other players include flutist
Robert Didomenica, alto saxman
John LaPorta,
Charles McCracken on cello, and a trio of percussionists that features
Max Roach on "Half-Mast Inhibition." These strange but wonderful tracks include a beautiful "Take the 'A' Train," that comes right out of "Exactly Like You," and the beautiful "Bemoanable Lady," and the speculative "Prayer for Passive Resistance." This Portuguese issue also features -- confusingly -- a 17-minute version of "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Then Silk Blue" from 1970 (taken from the album
Charles Mingus in Paris) with a band that included
Charles McPherson,
Jaki Byard,
Eddie Preston,
Richmond, and
Bobby Lee Jones. This is packaged in a slipcase and designed to look something like a Blue Note
Rudy Van Gelder disc. It has the look and feel of a pirate, but who knows?