Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (1959)

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions. The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' three most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is a suite of three tunes; "Bird Calls" is inspired by Charlie Parker; and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Post-Bop
Progressive Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Better Git It in Your Soul (7:23)
02 - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (4:46/5:44)
03 - Boogie Stop Shuffle" (3:41/5:02)
04 - Self-Portrait in Three Colors (3:10)
05 - Open Letter to Duke (4:56/5:51)
06 - Bird Calls (3:12/6:17)
07 - Fables of Faubus (8:13)
08 - Pussy Cat Dues (6:27/9:14)
09 - Jelly Roll (4:01/6:17)
10 - Pedal Point Blues (6:30) [reissued bonus track]
11 - GG Train (4:39) [reissued bonus track]
12 - Girl of My Dreams (4:08) [reissued bonus track]

Line-up:
Charles Mingus – bass, piano (with Parlan on track 10)
John Handy – alto sax (1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), clarinet (8), tenor sax (2)
Booker Ervin – tenor sax
Shafi Hadi – tenor sax (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), alto sax (5, 6, 9, 12)
Willie Dennis – trombone (3, 4, 5, 12)
Jimmy Knepper – trombone (1, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Horace Parlan – piano
Dannie Richmond – drums

Charles Mingus - The Clown (1957)

The Clown was Charles Mingus' second masterpiece in a row, upping the already intense emotional commitment of Pithecanthropus Erectus and burning with righteous anger and frustration. With Pithecanthropus, Mingus displayed a gift for airtight, focused arrangements that nonetheless allowed his players great freedom to add to the established mood of each piece. The Clown refines and heightens that gift; instead of just writing heads that provide launch points for solos, Mingus tries to evoke something specific with every piece, and even his most impressionistic forays have a strong storytelling quality. In fact, The Clown's title cut makes that explicit with a story verbally improvised by Jean Shepherd (yes, the same Jean Shepherd responsible for A Christmas Story) from a predetermined narrative. There are obvious jazz parallels in the clown's descent into bitterness with every unresponsive, mean-spirited audience, but the track is even more interesting for the free improvisations led by trombonist Jimmy Knepper, as the group responds to Shepherd's story and paints an aural backdrop. It's evidence that Mingus' compositional palette was growing more determinedly modern, much like his increasing use of dissonance, sudden tempo changes, and multiple sections. The Clown introduced two of Mingus' finest compositions in the driving, determined "Haitian Fight Song" and the '40s-flavored "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," a peaceful but melancholy tribute to Charlie Parker; Mingus would return to both throughout his career. And, more than just composing and arranging, Mingus also begins to take more of the spotlight as a soloist; in particular, his unaccompanied sections on "Haitian Fight Song" make it one of his fieriest moments ever. Mingus may have matched the urgency of The Clown on later albums, but he never quite exceeded it.
By Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-bop

Tracks:
01 - Haitian Fight Song (11:57)
02 - Blue Cee (7:48)
03 - Reincarnation of a Lovebird (8:31)
04 - The Clown (12:29)

Line-up:
Charles Mingus - bass
Shafi Hadi - alto and tenor Saxophone
Jimmy Knepper - trombone
Wade Legge - piano
Dannie Richmond - drums
Jean Shepherd - narration