Charles Mingus / Jimmy Knepper / John Handy / Booker Ervin / Horace Parlan / Dannie Richmond
CD 1: 1. Better Git It In Your Soul
2. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
3. Boogie Stop Shuffle
4. Self-Portrait In Three Colors
5. Open Letter To Duke
6. Bird Calls
7. Fables Of Faubus
8. Pussy Cat Dues
9. Jelly Roll
10. Pedal Point Blues
11. GG Train
12. Girl Of My Dreams
13. Bird Calls CD 2: 14. Better Git It In Your Soul
15. Jelly Roll
16. Slop
17. Diane
18. Song With Orange
19. Gunslinging Bird
20. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
21. Far Wells, Mill Valley
22. New Now Know How Mingus
23. Mood Indigo
24. Put Me In That Dungeon
25. Strollin'
Equally adept at playing the bass and composing, Charles Mingus is arguably the most forward-looking of each over the last long while. His grasp of harmony and orchestration put him alongside more "legitimate" composers such as Milton Babbitt and Gunther Schuller at "Third-Stream" festivals such as Brandeis University in 1957. His bass playing was strong, unrelenting, true, while much of his technique on the instrument is now seen in Avant-Garde scenes as "extended-technique".
The pairing of Ah-Um and Mingus Dynasty together gives the listener a broad view of Mingus' influences and concepts. Take, for example, Better Git It In Your Soul: a rollicking 6/4 gospel-tinged tune full of tight ensemble work and loose ends, all rolled into one. The best parts are the ad-lib and written melodies intertwing. The tribute to Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", is a very moving piece. It showcases Mingus' ability take a fairly simple melody and use moving harmony underneath to create this . Mingus tips his hat to Ellington through performances of "Things Ain't What They Used To Be" and "Mood Indigo".
But these are well written about; how about "Farewell, Farwell" from Mingus Dynasty? A poignant dedication to an old friend, this piece is a beautifully composed, stunningly arranged piece that is as much jazz as 20th Century in spots. "Self Portrait In Three Colors" is another piece that is a melody, performed three times, but with additional voices added under each time. The melody, to say the least, is beautiful, but the layered voices add tension, dissonance and depth to create a three minute tour-de-force that just might have you reaching for the repeat button!!!
Enough can't be said about these two albums, they are classic. If you don't know Mingus, this is where to start, if you love Mingus, you know what this is all about and might have to replace your worn-out CD or LP.
Wholenote Discoveries - July 2009
Three of the most important contributors to jazz in the late ‘50s are highlighted in a series of recent double album re-issues. This was a very fruitful era of recordings and the music presented here represents pivotal works by Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and Charles Mingus. “Mingus Au Um” gave us at least three compositions which stamped him as one of the most expressive voices in jazz - Better Git It In Your Soul, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, a homage to Lester Young, and Fables Of Faubus. Jelly Roll, a rewrite of Mr. Jelly Roll Soul, recorded earlier for the “Blues and Roots” album, is a nod in the direction of a perhaps unlikely hero for Mingus, Jelly Roll Morton. Fables of Faubus is an example of the Mingus who was also known for his activism against racial injustice. It was written as a protest against governor Orval E. Faubus of Arkansas. If you have the original LP it is probably well worn by now and in addition this CD has three numbers not included on the LP. An important aspect of the music on this album is the use of group improvisation which was an essential ingredient at the start of jazz in New Orleans but which had largely disappeared when the emphasis later switched to individual soloists. “Mingus Dynasty”, the 2nd disc of this Legacy Edition, acknowledges his debt to Duke Ellington with the inclusion of very personal interpretations of Things Ain't What They Used To Be and Mood Indigo. There is a blistering version of Gunslinging Bird, the original title of which was If Charlie Parker Were a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats. The album as a whole has a more formal feel to it than the “Ah Um” collection but gives us further insight into the creative working of Mingus’ mind. If you don't know this music, this is your opportunity to hear a great jazz original, one of the most important composers and performers of jazz, and if you do have the old LPs, there are enough alternate takes and unedited material (much of the original release was heavily edited) to make this a worthwhile purchase. Jim Galloway
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