Legendary bassist, composer, and bandleader Charles Mingus was in peak form at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, delivering performances that quickly became the stuff of legend. Those sets were documented the following year on Mingus At Monterey, a two-LP collection initially self-released by Mingus in 1965. Long out of print and increasingly difficult to find in clean original pressings, the album has now been carefully restored from the original mono tapes—resulting in a reissue that, in many respects, offers clearer, more faithful sound than most surviving originals.
According to official press materials for the new edition of Mingus At Monterey, the San Francisco Chronicle opened its coverage with an unambiguous assessment: “Monterey belonged to Charles Mingus this year. All the way.” That distinction is all the more striking given that the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival lineup also included Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis.
Originally sold via mail order and issued on Mingus’ own label, Mingus At Monterey was produced in extremely limited numbers. Some online sources suggest the initial pressing may have been as low as 200 copies, though precise figures are difficult to verify. What is certain is that original editions are scarce and highly collectible. Candid Records’ new reissue goes a long way toward restoring and in several respects improving upon—those earlier pressings. I own a well-preserved 1968 reissue released by Fantasy Records, featuring the second cover design and similar labels, and the new edition offers a noticeable sonic upgrade. Pressing quality, in particular, is markedly better: at least one side of my 1968 copy is off-center, causing audible pitch instability that simply isn’t an issue on the new release.
A lot of effort went into preparing this remaster to sound as good as possible. In the lower left corner of the back cover of the new reissued Mingus At Monterey an important “Producer’s Note” explains: “The original release of this historic Mingus performance, though labeled “Balanced Stereo,” was actually recorded an issued in mono. For this definitive remaster we worked exclusively from the original full-track mono tape sources discovered in the archives. Multiple Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves helped the remastering process, utilizing the legendary ATR 104 tape machine equipped with a state-of-the-art- Flux Magnetics full-track head. This careful restoration brings unprecedented clarity and depth to these vital recordings while maintaining their original monophonic integrity.”
The disc pressing lacquers were mastered for this reissue by renowned engineer Jeff Powell of Take Out Vinyl in Memphis. As part of this, Mingus At Monterey has (thankfully!) been reconfigured for modern manual audiophile-oriented turntables. Back in 1965, the discs were sequenced for play on then-popular stacking automatic record changers (Side 1 backed with Side 3; Side 2 backed with Side 4) which is something of a nuisance today for those wishing to play the album in proper running order.
I only have a few minor nits to pick. I do wish the producers had manufactured the cover using heavier weight cardboard vs. the thinner oaktag stock which was used. The re-booted Candid Records logo shouldn’t be on the cover (the original LP was not on Candid). And finally, to make this a more definitive, complete representation of this album’s production journey, the producers could have included a simple but nice 4-panel printed insert recreating the 1968 cover, the short lived sepia-toned variant 1965 cover, the altered ’68 gatefold layout as well as a reprint of the lithographed signed letter Mingus included with some copies of the 1968 album back in the day.
Nonetheless, I’m very pleased with this new reissue of Mingus At Monterey and am happy to add it to my collection for regular listening. A well-executed, affordably priced reissue of this acclaimed live document—capturing Charles Mingus’ first appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival—has been long overdue, and credit is due to the producers for presenting the performance with care and respect for the original recording.
Where to buy: $40.98 at Amazon or Candid Records for Clear Vinyl
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
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