Incidentally, everyone Morrison honors in the verse was still alive at the time, except for saxmen Bird and Lester Young. Of most interest to this Cowtown boy is “The Eternal Kansas City.” A gospel choir carries the meat of the melody while Morrison namechecks Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Jay McShan and other local luminaries. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, but the song remained a concert staple for decades. The intro to “It Feels You Up” sounds like something from Dr. John plays on every track here and co-produced the album, giving the songs his native New Orleans shuffle, particularly on the swampy opener “You Gotta Make It Through the World.” The single “Joyous Sound” shares a spirit and feel with “Domino.” Elsewhere, “Flamingos Fly” and “Heavy Connection” point to the jazzy, adult contemporary direction Morrison would later take on Avalon Sunset and Poetic Champions Compose in the late 1980s. The gypsy soul that characterized early albums like Tupelo Honey and Moondance was coming to a close, but the jazzier, lengthier contemplations exemplified on Common One and Beautiful Vision had not yet arrived. Van Morrison – A Period of Transition (1977) Van Morrison’s ninth album certainly lives up to the title. Somewhere between the two camps, however, Miles was able to carve out a nice little niche. Likewise, fans of soul music might be put off by the acidic rock explorations. There might not be enough guitar pyrotechnics to entice Hendrix fans to sit through the entire album. Hendrix’ fingerprints are also all over “69 Freedom Song.” The Memphis soul connection is made more explicit on Miles’ cover of Otis Redding’s “Cigarettes and Coffee” and a live version of Isaac Hayes and David Porter’s “Wrap It Up.” Side two kicks off with “Texas,” a slow blues number written with former Electric Flag bandmate Mike Bloomfield. The horns on the first cut, “Miss Lady” wouldn’t have been out of place on a Stax release (and place Hendrix’ wah-wah guitar solo in a unique context). Putting aside the long shadow Hendrix casts over this album, Electric Church is a good slice of R&B. Before that, however, Hendrix produced half the songs on Electric Church and played on several cuts as well. Somewhere around this time, Miles was asked to join Hendrix’ new trio Band of Gypsys.

At the time, Hendrix was expanding the Experience to incorporate the players that would become the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows group that performed at Woodstock. There’s a lot going on for an album that lasts a scant 28 minutes, but Mingus always rewards repeated listens.īuddy Miles Express – Electric Church (1969) Former Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles got an incredible assist on his second solo album from guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Mingus said the clown was meant to be a stand-in for jazz musicians. Actor Jean Shepherd – who narrated and co-wrote the film A Christmas Story based on his life – tells the story of a clown who worked hard to please everyone but wasn’t appreciated until after his death. Mingus revisited this song several times throughout his career.

You can hear different pieces of Parker’s melodies fly past in the song. Side two opens with “Reincarnation of a Lovebird,” Mingus’ tribute to Charlie Parker. “Bee Cee” is a piano-driven blues number. The Clown opens with a Mingus bass solo before the rest of the band joins in on “Haitian Fight Song.” Mingus described the song as a contemporary folk number, but it reminds me of Jimmy Smith’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” the way the song starts simply before the horns swagger into the forefront. There are only four songs on The Clown, but as with any Mingus release, they leave plenty to unpack. Charles Mingus – The Clown (1957) Jazz bass legend Charles Mingus’ second album for the Atlantic label was also his second masterpiece in a row.

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