This post is by Dan
Roberto Ottaviano (ss, as); Mario Arcari (ob); Luca Bonvini (tb, tr); Martin Mayes (frhn); Sandro Cerino (cl, bcl, fl); Fiorenzo Gualandris (tba); Tiziana Ghiglioni (vo on "Sweet Sucker Dance")
Recorded June 17-18 and July 14, 1988
Roberto Ottaviano continues to be Italy's premier jazz artist specializing on the soprano sax. He began his recording career in the mid-1980s and helped to establish Italian jazz on the world stage. His fourth decade of recording continues apace.
Mingus: Portrait in Six Colors was released on the Italian Splasc(h) label. It features a sextet called Six Mobiles. The Mobiles include three reed and three brass but no rhythm or chordal instruments. Several players double on at least one other instrument, giving the ensemble a rich sonic palette. Ottaviano is not specially featured, as this is a group effort. Arrangement duties are shared by members of the band, adding to the variety of portraits.
Six Mobiles is an apt group name because each of the six wind instruments floats like a mobile, independent of a conventional rhythm section. Representing Charles Mingus' works in this way gives them a fresh exposure that Mingus himself would have admired. Mingus was famous for the colorful images that he could create with both large and small groups.
There are two additional tracks on the CD that are not on the LP. One of the bonus tracks is the indispensable "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love," which I can listen to endlessly. I have not heard the LP.
The final cut, "Sweet Sucker Dance," is the only vocal. At first, I thought its inclusion was an afterthought and might spoil the continuity of the album. Now it's my favorite cut. The lyrics were written by Joni Mitchell for her Mingus album (Asylum, 1979). Sung by Tiziana Ghiglioni with the Mobiles' backing, it is simply marvelous. (I also like Joni's version). Ghiglioni has a long discography on Italian labels and deserves wider recognition as a jazz vocalist.
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