Weary Blues (album)

Weary Blues
Studio album by
Langston Hughes with Charles Mingus and Leonard Feather
Released1958
RecordedMarch 17–18, 1958
New York City
GenreJazz poetry
LabelMGM E 3697
ProducerLeonard Feather
Charles Mingus chronology
East Coasting
(1957) 		Weary Blues
(1958) 		A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry
(1959)
CD Reissue

Weary Blues (also referred to as The Weary Blues) is an album by the American poet Langston Hughes, who recites several of his poems over jazz accompaniment composed and arranged by Leonard Feather and Charles Mingus. The album was recorded on March 17 & 18, 1958 in New York and was released on the MGM label in 1959. It was later reissued on Verve Records.[1][2]

On side 1 (track 1) of the album Hughes is backed by a Leonard Feather organized group that includes Henry "Red" Allen, Sam "The Man" Taylor, Vic Dickenson, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. On side 2 (tracks 2 and 3) the accompaniment is by a Charles Mingus led group that includes Horace Parlan, Shafi Hadi, and Jimmy Knepper.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

The AllMusic review by Michael Katz called it "interesting, but not essential".[3]

Track listing

  1. "Blues Montage: Opening Blues/Blues Montage/Commercial Theater/Morning After/Could Be/Testament"
  2. "Consider Me: The Stranger/Midnight Stroll/Backstage
  3. "Dream Montage: Weird Nightmare/Double G Train/Jump Monk

Personnel

Track 1:
Tracks 2 and 3:

References

  1. ^ Charles Mingus discography accessed December 4, 2012
  2. ^ "Verve Records Discography: 1958". accessed May 2, 2022
  3. ^ a b Katz, M. Allmusic Review accessed December 4, 2012