Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus [Original recording reissued]

Charles Mingus | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 15, 1995)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B000003N7Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,235 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cobbled from two sessions in 1963, this is one of Charles Mingus's stormiest recordings. From the blues-painted bass moaning that opens "II BS," a faster vamp on "Haitian Fight Song," to the blazing fire of "Hora Decubitis," these tunes come furiously barreling out one after another. Speed and density aside, however, there are also multicolor, lovely tunes like Ellington's "Mood Indigo" and Mingus's paean to Lester Young (elsewhere dubbed "Goodbye Porkpie Hat"). More than anything, though, this is a major document thanks to the presence of the big ensemble, harmonized by the late Jaki Byard on piano and fronted by a herd of horn-players, Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin chief among them. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-AUG-1995

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his very best, but very close June 23, 2004

By Gus the Goldfish

Format:Audio CD

Most of the works on this album are alternate versions of songs that he had recorded elsewhere. Due to the various label requirements, and the various whims of the artist, most of them are renamed.

Haitian Fight Song => II B.S.
Better Get It In Your Soul => Better Get Hit In Your Soul
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat => Theme For Lester Young
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too => Hora Decubus

What makes these versions unique, and worth having on their own, is the 9 piece band. Mingus was experimenting with the form and structure of the group, and was using some of his existing material to see what he could do with a larger group. The results are dramatic -- faster pacing, higher highs, lower lows.

Nothing here is as great an achievement as "The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady" or "Mingus Ah Um", but the new arrangements are quite fun and perfectly enjoyable.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An important note about Mingus X5: February 12, 1999

By [e-mail]

Format:Audio CD

MingusX5, an energetic and richly arranged contribution to the Charles Mingus catalog, should come with a warning. The titles listed for this album are deceptive: "II B.S." is very similar to "Haitian Fight Song," "Mood Indigo," as you may already know, is a Duke Ellington composition, "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul" is a faster variation of "Better Get It in Your Soul" with a new ending, "Theme for Lester Young" is an alternate title for "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and "Hora Decubitus" sounds really familiar, like something off of Mingus Ah Um, but I can't place what it is. All of these pieces, except "Mood Indigo," are available elsewhere in varying forms, though, from what I can tell, this is a pattern among Mingus' recordings. That leaves only "I X Love" and "Celia" as surprises (unless they too are recorded elsewhere, but I have not seen or heard them).

All of these tracks are also available on a budget priced introduction to Mingus on the MCA label, which is about $4-5 cheaper than this album, and it includes the first section of "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" and, I believe, a piece from Mingus' solo piano album. However, there is a bonus track on Mingus X5, "Freedom," which is not listed above and is not on the original album or budget priced CD, and is a rousing contribution to the album as a whole and to the Mingus Catalog.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FIVE FOR MINGUS March 14, 2003

By S. Finefrock VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

The only criticism that I see on this fine collection, is that Mingus had previously recorded the majority of these tunes. Some say that the original versions of these songs included on various Columbia and Atlantic recordings are superior. If that's the case, then these versions come in second in a photo finish (Mingus re-recorded some of these because he was unhappy with previous edits). The ensembles that Mingus leads here play fast and loose on the uptempo and show great sensitivity on the ballads. Anyone interested in checking out the great Charles Mingus would be well advised to start here. Those already familiar with his work, also will not be disappointed, even if they already own other versions of these songs.