avant-garde/big-band legacy (1963)

Bob Hammer, arranger; Charles Mingus, bass; Eric Dolphy, flute and alto sax;
Dick Haffer, tenor sax, flute, and clarinet; Booker Ervin, tenor sax; 
Jerome Richardson, soprano sax, baritone sax, and flute; 
Eddie Preston, Richard Williams, trumpets; Britt Woodman, trombone;
Don Butterfield, tuba; Jaki Byard, piano; Walter Perkins, drums.

Mingus employs some sophisticated compositional techniques to embroider the driving swing. The melody is based on a three-note motive/riff. Mingus uses this motive in several ways to structure the piece. As an accompaniment to the melody he runs the motive forward, backward (retrograde), upside down (inverted), and upside down and backward. These techniques are common in classical compositions but are seldom used so thoroughly in jazz. Not only does Mingus voice the instruments thickly in the tenor range, he also states many ideas at the same time, thereby further thickening the texture. The soloists provide some interesting contrasts. Trumpeter Richard Williams bebop solo differs markedly from Dolphys advanced alto sax style. The tenor sax solo of Booker Ervin lies in the middle of these two extremes. Of the three solos, Dolphys is the most notable. The large intervallic skips, complicated patterns, and expressive inflections herald the avant-garde.