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Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland
Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland
Live album by Charles Mingus
Released	September 1959
Recorded	January 16, 1959
Genre	Jazz
Length	44:11
Label	United Artists
Producer	Alan Douglas
Charles Mingus chronology
Jazz Portraits Cover
Wonderland Cover

Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland is a live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on the United Artists label in September of that year.^[1]^[2]^[3] The original release was titled Jazz Portraits, and a subsequent edition was titled Wonderland, leading to the combined title of Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland.

Composition

Both "Alice's Wonderland" and "Nostalgia in Times Square" were originally written for the 1959 John Cassavetes film Shadows as part of a complete soundtrack. However, Mingus’ music was largely replaced in the final version of the film. A partial reconstruction of the soundtrack was released in 2015 under the compilation album Shadows.

A reworked version of "Nostalgia in Times Square," featuring vocals by Honi Gordon, was recorded during Mingus' 1959 Mingus Dynasty sessions and included as a bonus track on reissues of that album, titled "Strollin'".

Although "Nostalgia in Times Square" was never a major part of Mingus’ repertoire, it has since become a jazz standard, widely performed and recorded by other musicians.^[4] Notably, the jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood frequently perform the song, often as part of a medley with Sun Ra’s “Angel Race.”^[5]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow called the music "advanced bop that looks toward the upcoming innovations of the avant-garde and is frequently quite exciting".^[6]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[8]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	^[7]

Track listing

All compositions by Charles Mingus except as indicated

"Nostalgia in Times Square" – 12:18
"I Can't Get Started" (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) – 10:08
"No Private Income Blues" – 12:51
"Alice's Wonderland" – 8:54

Recorded at the Nonagon Art Gallery in New York City on January 16, 1959

Personnel

Charles Mingus – bass
John Handy – alto saxophone
Booker Ervin – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 3 & 4)
Richard Wyands – piano
Dannie Richmond – drums

References

^ ^a ^b "September Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 19 September 1959. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Jazz Portraits". The Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. 7 September 1959. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^ Charles Mingus discography accessed June 8, 2011
^ "Nostalgia in Times Square by Charles Mingus". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
^ Corroto, Mark. "Medeski, Martin & Wood: Free Magic: Live (Review)". All About Jazz. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
^ ^a ^b Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed June 8, 2011
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 140. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1002. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.