Customer Reviews

Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the liner notes to "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" Mingus calls it his best album because of the creative freedom that Impulse! records gave him that he didn't have at Atlantic or Columbia. He said he was going to re-record some of his previous songs the way he really wanted them heard. He was talking about the yet to be recorded Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. So yes, these songs are all old. Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Dannie Richmond and Jaki Byard are all in top form though and one listen reveals this obviously isn't a rehash of old ideas. Perhaps the best band he ever lead, but that's hard to say. To respond to someone who said this is where there was a slump in his writing- well he went to Europe and didn't record any studio albums in the United States for seven years so what is this based on? Let My Children Hear Music was the first album he did after he returned and that's a sweet album so I hope he wasn't saying that about that one.
Personally I agree with Mingus that "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" is his best. However I have to disagree with him a little here. The four Atlantic LPs (The Clown, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Blues and Roots and Oh Yeah) and the two Columbia LPs (Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty) that he discredits are great albums and well worth owning. Actually, I bought all of them before Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus and then when I finally did get Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus it was a real treat. After all it features Bob Thiele's production, the overall quality of the sound and the remaster, one his best and doubtless his most out there band playing modified versions of his best songs from his earlier albums. Its a wonderful reward for taking the time and effort to understand one of jazz's true originals.

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.

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.

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.

"Hora Decubitus" is similar to "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too" from Blues and Roots, not something from Mingus Ah Um (although there may be a piece on Mingus Ah Um that is similar as well, but I haven't listened to Mingus Ah Um lately). Mingus performing "Mood Indigo" is also available on Mingus Dynasty as a different recording and possibly different arrangement. Therefore, Mingus X5 includes only two new pieces (or three if you count the bonus track) for the listener. I recommend it for the Mingus fan for its altered arrangements and performances, but for an introduction, I recommend Blues and Roots, Pithecantropus Erectus, Mingus Ah Um or Mingus Dynasty instead.

Mingus X5 is second only to "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" on my list of favorite Mingus recordings. Now I have to admit that most of the songs heard here are old favorites that were previously released on other labels but were given aliases for this recording date, but I think it is well worth the money. "Hora Decubitus" is just an alias for "E's Flat Ah's Flat Too" which was released under Mingus by Atlantic three years earlier on Blues and Roots. "Theme for Lester Young" also released as "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat" (this time 4 years earlier) With both songs and with the rest of the previously released material, The better work is heard here on Mingus X5. Better sound, better solo efforts, and better arrangements! Evidence of Mingus's constant reevaluation of himself, ability to inspire his sidemen, and his constant search, like all great artists, for perfection in their work.

I normally don't like to give away details, but "Freedom" the last track on Mingus X5 is introduced with a beautiful poem read, and assume written by Mingus over the soft hum of his sidemen. Then the leader joins them in singing! Immediately after which Dannie(Drums)starts swingn' and the rest of the group just explodes!!!

I would like to take this time to point out Impulse Records. Every artist that has recorded with Impulse always seems to have a bit more fire, a bit more rockn', and a bit more soul. The sidemen sound more inspired and there always seems to be a mystical energy that comes with listening to Impulse records.

The first time I spun this record it turned my brain into jelly. About a year afterwards, I had Mingus tattooed on my left arm. Nowadays, the album still packs a punch, from the regal and elemental swing of "II B.S." to the warm heart and doleful melody of "Goodbye Porkpie Hat..." not to mention the most joyous tempo break ever in "Better Get It in Yo' Soul." While not everybody may be quite so fond of this particular Mingus disc on account of its more readily accessible nature, I feel this very quality is at the center of its greatness. It's raucous at times, soulful at others, and throughout the recording it maintains all of its candor. Whether you're a well-established Mingus lover or a greenhorn bass afficianado, this record will suit your needs and whet your thirst. My brother was in Spain for a conference last year, and over a dinner table piled with barnacles and other potent sea edibles, he was asked what record to buy if one wants to love jazz yet can't seem to pull it off. He looked in the direction of one of his colleagues, and they both replied, "Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus." 'Nuff said.

I am not a Mingus expert, but this disc starts out with a track that makes you feel like you're a 40's gangster and ends with a cool narrative piece reminiscent of gospel, which is good enough for me to give it 5 stars.

This is the place to learn all you need to know, if all you need to know is whether or not to become a Mingus fan. This is the album that hooked me, and I still consider it his best. The compisitions are old, but these revamped versions are definatley the ones to own. With renewed vitality, Mingus turns his standards into a new revelation!

Once you're hooked you'll find a wealth of great albums waiting for you, but this is the place to start, it almost seems made to order for an introduction to his genius.

And for anyone interested "2BS", a reworked version of "Hatian Fight Song" IS the version heard on those commercials and Oliver Stone's film "U-turn".

This is NOT easy listening music, if you're a fan of Kenny G you will probably hate this album, and I'm sure Charles Mingus wouldn't have it any other way.

I couldn't hold this album in higher esteem, get it, treasure it, make it a sandwitch before it whips you with a car antenna!

1963's "Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus" is an anomoly in Charles Mingus' catalog-- the last time he'd enter the studio for nearly eight years, it serves of sorts as a bookend to the period of 1956-1964, wherein Mingus recorded masterpiece after masterpiece-- "Pithecanthropus Erectus" for Atlantic, "Tijuana Moods for RCA, "Mingus Ah Um" for Columbia, "Pre-Bird" for Mercury, "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus" for Candid and "THe Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" were all recorded in this time, as were at least a dozen other great albums. For this one, Mingus chose to revisit his old material, rerecording several pieces from older records along with one new song ("Celia").

For these performances, Mingus used eleven pieces-- two of the songs were recorded during the 'Black Saint' sessions and feature alto saxaphonists Charles Mariano, while the remainder of the record was recorded in late 1963 with an extension of Mingus' working band, including Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin (although curiously, drummer Dannie Richmond is absent from these sessions).

The material is all performed quite well, but nothing seems to reach quite the level of the originals. Admittedly, "Celia" is a lovely piece, "I X Love" (a rewrite of part of "Open Letter to Duke") features unnervingly brilliant playing from Mariano, and "Better Get Hit In Yo' Soul" is always a blast, but it feels like a bookend, not like an album, particularly after a monster like "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady".