Charles Mingus: Epitaph Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Jazz Institue Berlin, Jorge Puerta feat. Randy Brecker

• 1Main Score - Pt. 105:32
• 2Percussion Discussion08:54
• 3Main Score – Pt. 205:09
• 4Started Melody13:07
• 5Better Get Hit in Your Soul11:35
• 6The Soul02:48
• 7Moods in Mambo04:28
• 8Self Portrait / Chill of Death11:30
• 9O.P. (Oscar Pettiford)03:47
• 10Pinky / Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon08:50
• 11Monk, Bunk, and Vice Versa (Osmotin’)03:48
• 12Peggy’s Blue Skylight04:37
• 13Wolverine Blues05:49
• 14Children’s Hour of Dream09:01
• 15This Subdues My Passion03:13
• 16Untitled Ballad – In Other Words, I am Three10:34
• 17Freedom09:32
• 18"Untitled Interlude – The Underdog Rising"05:02
• 19Noon Night04:04
• 20Main Score Reprise05:01
• Total Runtime02:16:21

Info for Charles Mingus: Epitaph

At the finale of the "Musikfest Berlin" 2022, the musicians of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and their BigBand performed “Epitaph” as a tribute to the 100th birthday of Charles Mingus.

Under the energetic baton of Titus Engel, the musicians of the BigBand and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Jazzinstitut Berlin explore the realms of expression of dark threat, profound songfulness, conflict and ecstasy with irrepressible joy of playing and remarkable clarity. Star trumpeter Randy Brecker lets his wonderfully clear tone soar to the highest heights. It becomes touching when Jorge Puerta sings "Freedom" with a powerful voice and the musicians hum along.

Charles Mingus was considered a genius and "angry man" of jazz, a highly talented musician who was denied the opportunity to study classical cello because of his skin colour. In the 1940's, only jazz was open to him. "Epitaph" was a series of 20 expansive pieces lasting over two hours: the inadequately prepared premiere in 1961 was a failure. It was only when the composer Gunter Schuller revised it in 1989 from Paris and sketches he had left behind that a realisable score emerged.

BigBand der der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Musiker des Orchesters der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Musiker des Jazz Institut Berlin
Special Guests:
Randy Brecker, trumpete
Jorge Puerta, narrator, tenor
Titus Engel, musical director

Recorded live on 19 September 2022 at the Philharmonie Berlin

BigBand der der Deutschen Oper Berlin
In 2005, orchestral musicians from the Deutsche Oper Berlin embarked on 'new paths', playing swinging and funky jazz standards by Thad Jones, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sammy Nestico and Peter Herbolzheimer, among others, alongside reverently performed Wagner, Verdi, Mozart and Puccini. And the musicians around Sebastian 'Sese' Krol and Rüdiger 'Rübe' Ruppert, together with musicians from the German jazz scene, do this in such an original, powerful, virtuoso and inspired way that the annual concert of the BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin has become a real crowd-puller and a guarantee for good humour.

The American magazine "All About Jazz" writes about the Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin: "Germany, which supports the performing arts to a degree that is far greater than what is practiced here in the United States, has produced a number of world-class big bands as a result of this support. This is one of them."

The actual birth of the Big Band is considered to be a benefit concert in 2005 with the 12 brass players and a drummer of the Deutsche Oper Orchestra. Initially, the baritone saxophonist Rolf von Nordenskjöld led the band. Now the jazz trombonist, composer and arranger Manfred Honetschläger provides the right sound. Stars such as Katharine Mehrling, Madeline Bell, Lyambiko, Jocelyn B. Smith, Pe Werner, Bill Ramsey, Georgie Fame, Jiggs Whigham, Jeff Cascaro and Richard Galliano have already been guests. In collaboration with the General Music Director Donald Runnicles, a crossover concert took place in 2011, and in 2016 the world premiere of the jazz melodrama "The Seduction of Pentheus" by Manfred Honetschläger took place on the large stage of the Deutsche Oper with the orchestra and the big band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, also under the direction of the GMD Donald Runnicles and together with the actor Ben Becker.

Other highlights were a concert with Paul Kuhn in June 2012, which was the last time he performed with a big band. Also worth mentioning is the concert on the occasion of the Brandenburg Summer Concerts 2014 at the unopened BER airport in Berlin-Brandenburg with over 2000 visitors. The BigBand celebrated its tenth anniversary in March 2016 with a brilliant concert in front of a sold-out crowd with the soloists Torsten Goods, Polly Gibbons and the trumpeter Till Brönner. In April 2018, the BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin was invited to a three-day guest performance in Warsaw, during which two concerts were held together with the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Three CDs have been released by monsrecords so far: The CD "Premiere", released in 2008, was created together with Bill Ramsey, a second was released in 2010 under the title "How long is now?" together with Pascal von Wroblewsky. The third CD "A Soul Journey" is a concert recording by RBB from February 2018 with soloists, choir and big band, in which Christian "The Voice" Brückner leads through the history of soul.

This album contains no booklet.