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Three or Four Shades of Blues

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Three or Four Shades of Blues
Studio album by
Charles Mingus
Released1977 (1977)
RecordedMarch 9, 10, and 29, 1977
StudioAtlantic Studios, New York; Record Plant, Los Angeles
GenreJazz
Length44:13
LabelAtlantic
ProducerIlhan Mimaroglu
Charles Mingus chronology
Changes Two
(1975) 		Three or Four Shades of Blues
(1977) 		Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
(1978)

Three or Four Shades of Blues is a studio album by the American jazz bassist and bandleader Charles Mingus. It was recorded in sessions held on March 9 and 11, 1977, at New York City's Atlantic Studios, and on March 29 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.[citation needed] The album features two new versions of Mingus's "standards" and three new compositions performed by large ensembles featuring saxophonists Ricky Ford, George Coleman, and Sonny Fortune, pianist Jimmy Rowles, guitarists Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine and John Scofield, bassists Ron Carter and George Mraz, trumpeter Jack Walrath, and drummer Dannie Richmond.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[5]
Q[2]
Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[3]
The Village VoiceA−[4]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said the second side on Three or Four Shades of Blue was "the best composed bebop" he had heard in 1977, partly because Coryell and Fortune gave their most impressive performances in some time.[4] The New Yorker found the record "subtle and funny and full of Mingus's peculiar and unmistakable authority".[6] AllMusic's Stuart Kremsky was less enthusiastic in a retrospective review, writing that it was not Mingus's "best work, but not without merit". He felt the title track was one of his most successful attempts at longer compositions, even though he said the electric guitars were out of place.[1]

Track listing

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All compositions by Charles Mingus.

Side one
No.TitleRecording dateLength
1."Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul"March 9, 19774:35
2."Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"March 9, 19777:00
3."Noddin Ya Head Blues"March 9, 197710:29
Side two
No.TitleRecording dateLength
4."Three or Four Shades of Blues"March 29, 197712:03
5."Nobody Knows"March 11, 197710:06

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kremsky, S. AllMusic Review accessed April 15, 2009.
  2. ^ Q. London: 110. July 1993.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 141. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (December 26, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1005. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ The New Yorker, Volume 53, Issues 46-52, p. 63.
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