Mingus Takes Manhattan – The Complete Birdland Dates: 1961 – 1962

Mingus Takes Manhattan collects together Charles Mingus’ run of dates at the world famous Birdland, New York from 1961-1962, released here officially for the first time ever in conjunction with the Mingus Estate.

The original reel-to-reel tapes used to record the radio broadcasts were tracked down, cleaned and remastered especially for this release. Previously only issued in bootleg form, the recordings enclosed feature Mingus in the midst of a highly creative spell.

Alternating between bass and piano during these sets features a rotating band of heavy hitters including Yusef Lateef, Roland Kirk, Jaki Byard, Booker Ervin, Pepper Adams as well as Mingus mainstays Charles McPherson, Dannie Richmond and others.

Located in a basement in the Bronx, these incredibly rare recordings are given their best sonic outing since 1962. At the centre of this package is a 44-page book with a foreword from Christian McBride, a highly informative 15,000 word essay from Brian Priestley and a new interview with Charles McPherson, giving context and inside information to the dates and the time. All of this is illustrated with slick design and rare photographs and ephemera throughout.

Hot on the heels of the critically lauded Dorothy Ashby 6-LP box set, and a string of releases featuring Gerry Mulligan, Blue Mitchell, Howard McGhee and Charles Mingus, New Land return with another vital box set.

“These recordings capture a window of time in the life of a jazz legend who was arguably at his creative peak” – Christian McBride