Personnel: Eric Mingus (vocals, guitar, acoustic bass); Jeff Friedman (guitar); Donny McCaslin (saxophone); Kenny Rampton (trumpet); Ethan Winogrand (drums, percussion, programming); Mocean Worker.
Engineers: Ross Bonadonna, Ethan Winogrand, Michael Farquharson.
Recorded at Wombat Recording Company and Spokes Studios, Brooklyn, New York; My Studio, Boston, Massachusetts. Includes liner notes by Eric Mingus.
Personnel: Eric Mingus (vocals, spoken vocals, guitar, double bass); Donny McCaslin (saxophone); Kenny Rampton (trumpet); Ethan Winogrand (drums, percussion, drum programming).
Audio Mixer: Michael Farquharson.
Liner Note Author: Eric Mingus.
Recording information: My Studio, Boston, MA; Spokes Studios, Brooklyn, NY; Wombat Recording Company, Brooklyn, NY.
Eric Mingus' debut full-length recording is a puzzling piece of work that seems as much in search for an identity as the musician himself. Certainly, it's no sin to be proud of your heritage and with a progenitor like Charles Mingus; Eric has a lot to be proud of. Just what he makes of this heritage is rather confusing though. The fact that he plays double bass doesn't help. The fact that he insists on tangential nods to his famous father in his choice of album title (an homage to Ah Um) only further muddies the waters. One can only suppose there's a joke that we're just not in on. Charles Mingus was a master of musical double talk. It's not certain what it is that Eric's good at. This album is a curious mash of Tom Waits, Gil Scott-Heron and Barry White; spoken word musings over soul jazz lurching. The focus is put firmly on lyrics that sometimes can bear the weight of that focus, but sometimes veer dangerously close to self parody and indulgence. All in all, this is an interesting record, and, in spots, a very good one. The overall feeling one gets, however, is of a man who really has no idea what it is he's stretching for and has nowhere near the self-motivation to get there. ~ Rob Ferrier minimize