Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Studio album by Charles Mingus
Released	April/May 1964
Recorded	January 20 & September 20, 1963 New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:30
Label	Impulse! A-54
Producer	Bob Thiele
Charles Mingus chronology
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady1963 Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (1963) Mingus Plays Piano (1963)Mingus Plays Piano1963

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The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a 1964 album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus.

Mingus collaborated with arranger/orchestrator Bob Hammer to score the music for a large ensemble of brass and saxophones.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Charles Mingus, except where noted.

1. "II B.S." – 4:48
2. "I X Love" – 7:41
3. "Celia" – 6:14
4. "Mood Indigo" (Duke Ellington/Barney Bigard) – 4:45
5. "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul" – 6:30
6. "Theme for Lester Young" – 5:51
7. "Hora Decubitus" – 4:41
8. "Freedom" – 5:10 Bonus track on CD reissue

Some editions of this album such as AS-54-B on Impulse Records contains an alternate track listing, which excludes the track "Freedom".

Historical context

Many of the compositions on this album had been previously recorded or have since been rerecorded, some under different titles, on other albums.

• "Theme for Lester Young" as "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on Mingus Ah Um
• "II B.S." as "Haitian Fight Song" on Plus Max Roach and The Clown
• "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul" as "Better Git It in Your Soul" on Mingus Ah Um (also "Better Git Hit in Your Soul" on Mingus at Antibes)
• "Hora Decubitus" as "E's Flat, Ah's Flat Too" on Blues & Roots
• "I X Love" as "Duke's Choice" on A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry.

Personnel

Tracks #1 and 4-8, recorded on September 20, 1963:

• Eddie Preston - Trumpet
• Richard Williams - Trumpet
• Britt Woodman - Trombone
• Don Butterfield - Tuba
• Jerome Richardson - Soprano, baritone saxes, flute
• Dick Hafer - Tenor sax, clarinet, flute
• Booker Ervin - Tenor sax
• Eric Dolphy - Alto sax, flute, bass clarinet
• Jaki Byard - Piano
• Charles Mingus - Bass, (narration, #8)
• Walter Perkins - Drums
• Bob Hammer - Arranger and orchestrator

Tracks #2 and 3, recorded on January 20, 1963:

• Rolf Ericson - Trumpet
• Richard Williams - Trumpet
• Quentin Jackson - Trombone
• Don Butterfield - Tuba
• Jerome Richardson - Soprano, baritone saxes, flute
• Dick Hafer - Tenor sax, flute, oboe
• Charlie Mariano - Alto sax
• Jaki Byard - Piano
• Jay Berliner - Guitar
• Charles Mingus - Bass, piano
• Dannie Richmond - Drums
• Bob Hammer - Arranger and orchestrator

Production

• Bob Thiele - Producer
• Michael Cuscuna - Reissue Producer
• Bob Simpson - Engineer
• Erick Labson - Remastering

Freedom

Freedom, by Charles Mingus (excerpt)

This mule ain't from Moscow,

this mule ain't from the South.

But this mule's had some learning,

mostly mouth-to-mouth.

The lyrics, "This mule ain't from Moscow", might be a reference to a Moscow Mule, a drink made of vodka and ginger beer popular in the 1950s, but is likely also referring to African-American slaves as the "mule".

Mingus performed a number of other songs with spoken poetry or narration:

• "Scenes in the City"
• "The Chill of Death"
• "The Clown"
• "Weary Blues" (read by Langston Hughes)
• "Don't Let It Happen Here"
• "It Was A Lonely Day In Selma, Alabama"
• "Where Does A Man Go To Find Peace?"

Several of his other pieces have lyrics:

• "Fables of Faubus"
• "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me"
• "Devil Woman"