"Mingus
Amungus... with fresh artistic ideas have secured them as a
truly progressive and evolving performing group, rather than another
ghost band."
-- Daniel Atkinson
"By
the end of the rousing set [at the Monterey Jazz Festival], the
crowd was on its feet, cheering for an encore from Mingus Amungus."
-- Dan Ouellette, Down Beat
"...
But the real secret weapon was Mingus Amungus, a San
Francisco-based ensemble that swung through Mingus’ music with a
compilation of first-rate jazz playing, dancers and rap
artists."
-- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
"The
show began with a terrific performance by Mingus Amungus...
as they performed exuberant versions of such Mingus classics as ‘Better
Get Hit in Your Soul’."
-- Jessie Hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle
"Anyone
skeptical about the ability of the Bay Area’s so-called ‘new
Jazz’ scene artists to inculcate a passion for real jazz in their
style-conscious audiences has to deal with the popularity of Mingus
Amungus."
-- Derk Richardson Bay Guardian
"Mingus
Amungus is very contemporary. it’s not the approach Charles
would have taken, but their music is totally in the Mingus spirit.
The dancers, rappers, drummers and lights give the music an
excitement and fidelity. I’m sure Charles would have been knocked
out by it."
-- Sue Mingus
"The
most interesting discovery of the weekend was a group called Mingus
Amungus. Seven young musicians played the music of Charles
Mingus in the same wide-open, risky, sometimes sloppy way that
Mingus played it himself. Leader Miles Perkins swung his
acoustic five-string bass around, a horn section breathed fire, a
dancer swirled across the stage, a white-robed speaker declaimed
something between a poem and a rap -- and the whole experience could
not have been more hip."
-- Matt Schudel, Sun-Sentinel South Florida
"[Miles
Perkins] has spent the past decade shepherding his band Mingus
Amungus to the top of the Bay Area jazz club pecking order. He's
done so with a scintillating live show that emphasizes a
cross-cultural, intergenerational mix of dance, hip-hop, Latin
rhythms, and of course, tributes to the Mingus blues -- and
gospel-tinged modern jazz library."
-- Adam Savetsky, Bay Guardian
"The
visitors from San Francisco proved more than vivacious as they
swaggered through their initial number, a bent and bluesy thing with
lots of bottom and plenty of balls. Mingus Amungus is a sort
of tribute band, and in this piece they caught the spirit of their
guru Charlie Mingus, particularly his bitter gladness. But
the way they did it was by no means slavish. On the contrary!"
-- Tony Gieske, The Hollywood Reporter
"Those
who have heard Mingus Amungus perform know how unusual and
entertaining this group is, and this CD is like being there at a
live performance, sitting in a chair, taking it all in! Each
performer plays perfectly and the group is in excellent form! "
-- Lee Prosser, JazzReview.com
"...
the most exciting performers, the San Francisco-based musical
commune Mingus Amungus. Far more than a revival group,
however, Mingus Amungus added performances by its resident
dancers and topped off the appearance with a remarkably effective
blending of jazz and hip-hop. In their own still relatively
unheralded fashion, the musicians are effectively placing jazz in a
holistic connection with the many other elements coursing through
the late 20th century music scene. And they clearly deserve greater
attention."
-- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
"They
mix jazz swing, Afro-Cuban percussion, and hip-hop flavor into a
concoction of which the patron saint of bass would certainly have
approved."
-- Ezra Gale, Jazziz
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