Eagle Rock Entertainment | 2009 | 131 mins. | Not Rated


Few would argue that Charles Mingus is one of the most important and influential jazz musicians and composers of our time. Dozens of musicians played in his bands and went on to their own successful solo careers. Epitaph was to be Mingus’ magnum opus; he says he wrote it for his tombstone. There had been one ill-fated attempt to record some of it back in 1962, at a Town Hall concert but the recordings didn’t result in the cohesive piece Mingus was looking for. As a result, Epitaph was not performed in its entirety before Mingus died in 1979.

While going through some papers after Mingus’ death, Andrew Homzy, director of the jazz program at Concordia University in Montreal found a trunkful of Mingus’ handwritten papers, which was meant to be Epitaph. At that point Homzy and Mingus’ widow Sue contacted Gunther Schuller, who put together an all-star orchestra to play what was a very demanding piece of music. Despite all the gathered talented, there were still many obstacles to overcome before the musicians felt comfortable playing the piece.


On June 3, 1989, Epitaph was performed at Alice Tully Hall in New York’s Lincoln Center. Eagle Vision presents the performance, which was recorded live for British television. After a brief introduction by Sue Mingus, conductor Gunther Schuller takes the stage for a concert that lasts over two hours and involves an orchestra with thirty members. Epitaph is played straight through with great skill and emotion; some of jazz’ greatest players are involved, including saxophonist George Adams, trumpeter Jack Walrath and a young trumpeter named Winton Marsalis.

The product of Mingus’ 500 page score, Epitaph is an amazing piece of music. Though it runs through many changes and reflects several eras of jazz, at its heart Epitaph is still cohesive and undeniably Mingus. Even the casual fan will instantly recognize his blended orchestrations, slow building brass movements, gospel hymns and the occasional spoken word.
Below is a track list:

1. Main Score, Pt. 1
2. Percussion Discussion
3. Main Score, Pt. 2
4. Started Melody
5. Better Get Hit in Yo’ Soul
6. Soul
7. Moods in Mambo
8. Self Portrait/Chill of Death
9. O.P. (Oscar Pettiford)
10. Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon
11. Monk, Bunk & Vice Versa
12. Peggy’s Blue Skylight
13. Wolverine Blues
14. Children’s Hour of Dream
15. Ballad (In Other Words, I Am Three)
16. Freedom
17. Interlude (The Underdog Rising)
18. Noon Night
19. Main Score Reprise

What Mingus accomplished was to essentially take listeners on a ride through the history of jazz. There are nods to other jazz greats, in his cover of Jelly Roll Morton’s “Wolverine Blues” and a shout out to Thelonious Monk on “Monk, Bunk & Vice Versa (Osmotin)”). Just watching this makes it clear why Mingus said he wrote it for his tombstone; it may be his greatest piece. However, because Gunther Schuller was working from 500 pages Charles Mingus left behind, one can’t help but wonder what the final piece would have been like if he had been able to see it through to completion.

Lucky for us though, on that magical night in 1989, thirty musicians got together and played a wonderful version of Epitaph, that any Charles Mingus fan should own. Heartfelt and intricate, this is truly jazz music at its best.

Unfortunately, the visual presentation isn’t on par with the music. The picture has that late-80s blur to it. Fortunately, the sound quality is excellent. Recorded in Dolby stereo, but the audio is crisp and bright with very few instances of inconsistent volume.

The DVD itself doesn’t have any special features but does include liner notes. The DVD includes a booklet (adapted from the CD release of Epitaph back in 1990) that explains each song and various challenges faced in piecing together everything. It’s very well-written and helps to give more meaning to the composition.



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