30 years after Mingus’ death, Quintorigo’s tribute to the genius of the American composer, the first one ever made in Italy( with which they got theeminent title of “2008 best group” according to “Music Jazz” magazine’s yearly referendum, now available on cd Sam Production/Egea) is a complex show of strong impact. The set design take us back to New York jazz clubs of the 50s. The alternation of music and readings ( from the autobiography “Beneath the Underdog” and “Tonight at Noon”, written by Mingus’ second wife Sue Graham Mingus) helps us to put together the pieces of the puzzle “Mingus”: his music, his life, the American racist reality of that period. Quintorigo play Mingus: a modern and charming revisitation of one of the most innovative genius of modern jazz, Charles Mingus (1922-1979), an authentic genius of jazz: composer, orchestra leader, double bass player, pianist, he left an enduring mark on the history of 20th century music, a solid and binding influence over contemporary musicians, a precious inheritance for anybody who play, love and listen to jazz.

The project Quintorigo play Mingus comes out from a careful consideration and has specific purposes; it derives from the unconditional love of the band for Mingus as musician, but even as a man. Tributes to the author have been already made, like the ones by Joni Mitchell and Bill Frisell, with no doubts the most successful, but there was nothing like that in Italy. There’s no work that could completely represent this great composer regarding his artistic and existential experience. These are the starting points of the project “Quintorigo play Mingus”, an organic project which has a lot of purposes and valiances: to provide jazz listeners with a better knowledge of Mingus’ work (but not only them); to catch the connection between he music and the ideas of the author, but also the biographical experiences which determined his development in order to represent a slice of the American pre- and post-war society, pointing out racial, political and customs themes; to get the charm and the emotion of Mingus’ across the audience by using several languages, being that the main trait of Quintorigo musical aestthetics. Quintorigo play Mingus is a well-articulated project which moves and developes between the record and the live shows, two elements that are deeply connected and that give their work much completeness and structure. So, we’re not only talking about a record or a tribute concert; this is something we could define as a mixed monographical work, which blends the musical element with the theatrical and documentary dimensions. During the concerts, which are extremely accurate regarding the set design, Quintorigo play the most famous pieces of Mingus in their own style, the ones they recorded, alternating their performances with the readings of some passages of Mingus biography and the projection of documentaries and concerts on a big screen, making an interaction with the band’s commentary-accompaniment-counterpoint. All this is supported by a refined set, made up of a few objects, lights and customes which create a mix of vintage, post-modern, technologic and old fashioned elements. What the audience watch is an involving and poetic dialogue between Quintorigo and Mingus, between jazz and other contaminations, between old and new music, past and present, sounds, images and atmospheres.Nowadays, Quintorigo are presenting a live show with the collaboration of Michele Francesconi, important and brillant pianist in the contemporary Italy jazz scene.