Interestingly, Live at MCG is the very first live recording by Bob Mintzer's big band, a group that has been together for over a decade.
Recorded at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild in Pittsburgh, this date is also the first pairing of vocalist Kurt Elling with the band, and it's a doozy of a gig.
The players include bassist Rufus Reid, pianist Phil Markowitz, and trumpeter Michael Philip Mossman, just to name a few of its 16 members.
Mintzer's charts are high on drama, rich in rhythmic interplay, and very, very tight.
There is nothing extraneous, because the excitement is what he draws out of the music itself.
While everything here is exciting, deftly executed, and wonderfully lyrical, the three vocal tunes are clearly the set's highlights, including "My Foolish Heart," a tune that has become one of Elling's signature vehicles, and the Elling-Mintzer collaboration "All Is Quiet," on which Mintzer scales the band back to a quartet.
But it is on a brand new chart for Herbie Hancock's "Eye of the Hurricane" that everything here takes off.
Mintzer's own solo is one of his most inspired, and Markowitz's modulations are startling.
But Elling moves his own truly original practice of vocalese into the stratosphere somewhere, making this the album's most inspired performance.
Any way you cut it, this is a winner.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El CaborojénoBob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 06:11 | 14 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | My Foolish HeartNed Washington, Victor Young | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 06:44 | 15 MB | 32 MB |
| 3 | One O'Clock JumpCount Basie | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | GentlyBob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 41 MB |
| 5 | Eye of the HurricaneHerbie Hancock | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 12:07 | 27 MB | 80 MB |
| 6 | TimelessBob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 08:05 | 18 MB | 47 MB |
| 7 | All Is QuietKurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 08:58 | 20 MB | 45 MB |
| 8 | Who's Walkin' WhoBob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 08:41 | 19 MB | 47 MB |
| 9 | Original PeopleBob Mintzer | Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer | Play | 08:01 | 18 MB | 44 MB |
| 70 mins | 161 MB | |||||
| 70 mins | 402 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Ashby | Audio Production, Editing, Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Marty Ashby | Audio Production, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 3 | Count Basie | Composer |
| 4 | Bill Bonidie | Production Coordination |
| 5 | Robert Bowman | Photography |
| 6 | Michael Davis | Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone |
| 7 | Jay Dudt | Audio Engineer, Editing, Engineer, Mixing |
| 8 | Kurt Elling | Additional Personnel, Composer, Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Soloist, Vocals |
| 9 | Larry Farrell | Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone |
| 10 | Lawrence Feldman | Member of Attributed Artist, Saxophone |
| 11 | Renée Govanucci | Associate Producer |
| 12 | Frank Greene | Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet |
| 13 | Herbie Hancock | Composer |
| 14 | Bob Malach | Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 15 | Bobby Mallach | Sax (Tenor), Soloist |
| 16 | Jim Manly | Layout Design |
| 17 | Phil Markowitz | Member of Attributed Artist, Piano, Soloist |
| 18 | Bob Millikan | Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet |
| 19 | David Mills | Production Coordination |
| 20 | Bob Mintzer | Arranger, Composer, Liner Notes, Member of Attributed Artist, Primary Artist, Sax (Tenor), Soloist |
| 21 | Bob Mintzer Big Band | Primary Artist |
| 22 | Michael Philip Mossman | Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trumpet |
| 23 | Jeff O.Brien Myers | Cover Art |
| 24 | Keith O'Quinn | Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone |
| 25 | Rufus Reid | Bass, Bass Instrument, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 26 | John Riley | Drums, Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist |
| 27 | Roger Rosenberg | Baritone (Vocal), Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Baritone), Saxophone, Soloist |
| 28 | Roger M. Rosenburg | Sax (Baritone), Soloist |
| 29 | David Taylor | Member of Attributed Artist, Trombone |
| 30 | David Earl Taylor | Trombone (Bass) |
| 31 | Ned Washington | Composer |
| 32 | Scott Wendholt | Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trumpet |
| 33 | Pete Yellin | Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Alto), Soloist |
| 34 | Victor Young | Composer |
Bob Mintzer Big Band
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |