"Blues and Roots Ensemble did a service to the larger than life legend Charles Mingus...handling the complexities of the bass playing genius with a dapper swagger."  Jazz Standard. 

Taking their name from Charles Mingus’ seminal long-player, The Blues and Roots Ensemble is a band dedicated to sharing the music of Charles Mingus through live performances and education projects.  

Led by double bassist Ed Babar, the band  capture the spirit of the great Mingus bands through their energetic performances that include everything from raucous open improvisation sections to soulful ballad playing, all within the context of Mingus' classic compositions.

The band performs original and creative arrangements of Mingus' music, from his earliest blues influences to his advanced, socially inspired compositions from the 50s - 70s.

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Taking their name from Charles Mingus’ seminal long-player, The Blues & Roots Ensemble is a band dedicated to sharing the music of Mingus through live performances and education projects.

 

Led by Ed Babar and two other players from the Blues & Roots Ensemble, the education workshop uses Mingus' music as a catalyst for actively exploring the concepts of jazz music and of capturing creativity in music.  

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The primary aim of the workshop is to give musicians the opportunity to explore, not only Mingus' compositions, but the ethos with which Mingus encouraged musicians to perform and interact. As such the more simple compositions and backings for solos will be taught using dictation, however there will also be sheet music available for those who prefer.

There will be a focus throughout the workshop on extracting all possibilities from using simple forms of music and giving all musicians, regardless of standard, the opportunity to express themselves within the context of an ensemble.

Basic concepts such as jazz feel and phrasing will be covered, as well as more advanced ideas such as open improvisation with multiple soloists and experimenting with different specific genres within the context of jazz.

There are also backing tracks on the band website that can be used to practice the compositions that we look at after the workshop is completed.