Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
In 1973, the Charles Mingus Quintet had a week-long engagement at the Strata Concert Gallery in Detroit. Tapes from the performances recently were discovered, and now will be released through the BBE imprint.
(Photo: Hans Kumpf)Set for release Friday is the BBE imprint’s Jazz in Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden, five CDs or 10 LPs worth of the Charles Mingus Quintet holding forth in Detroit.
Originally broadcast on WDET-FM, a Detroit public radio station, during the troupe’s week-long residency at the Strata Concert Gallery in 1973, the set features extended renditions of “Pithecanthropus Erectus” and “C Jam Blues,” as well as tunes like “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk” and a bit of radio chatter by DJ Bud Spangler. Mingus here is accompanied by drummer Roy Brooks, pianist Don Pullen, trumpeter Joe Gardner and tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield.
The Mingus Big Band’s upcoming Monday night gig at New York’s Jazz Standard is set to mark the release. Two sets are scheduled: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
For more information about the release, visit the BBE homepage. DB
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
“He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.
Feb 27, 2024 1:40 PM
“I might not have felt this way 30 to 40 years ago, but I’ve reached a point where I can hear value in what people…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
