Customer Reviews

Tijuana Moods

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

 

 

"Tijuana Moods" is one of Charles Mingus' favorites. Adding to the mystique, and for whatever reason, I've seen copies of this CD for sale new, unimported, as exorbitant prices. Amazon was reasonable, so I bought it before they raised it back higher. What do you get? Two CD's, one is the original LP. The other has uncut versions. The script is flipped with "A Colloquial Dream", which didn't come out with the original LP. The long version is on CD1, the short on CD2. The music starts with "Dizzy Moods", a swinging song which simply sounds like typical Mingus. If you like Mingus, you'll like "Dizzy Moods". "Ysabel's Table Dance" starts the Mexican portion of the album. There's a somewhat stereotypical castanet rhythm driving the song. The song sounds like turbulent, excited Mingus. There's vocalizing, presumably by Charles, off mic as the band churns through the fast sections. "Tijuana Gift Shop" has a fleeter melody, though like all of the songs the tempo slows and surges. "Los Mariachis" has horns parts that push and pull against each other in typical Mingusian fashion. "Flamingo", written by Anderson & Grouya, isn't as good as the Mingus compositions. "A Colloquial Dream" is another Mingus attempt at marrying verse and music. I haven't found one that really clicks yet. To summarize, it's a very good Mingus CD with a Mexican veneer. I say "veneer" because it sounds like a short impression of Mexico, like a visit to Tijuana. I'm sure if the band lived in Mexico for a year and spent a year learning and playing Mexican music, the Mexicanization would sound more convincing. Its lack of world music bona fides isn't a big knock on the very good CD. Better than "Mingus Ah Um"? No, but much better than "The Clown", which also came out in 1957.

I write this review only to counter the previous reviewer who gave it a 2 star review. I am a Mingus devotee, but don't take my word for it. Most jazz critics, fans and Mingus fans agree this is one of the great jazz recordings. Even Mingus considered it one of his greatest efforts. If you don't have it, get it, and experience the excitement of Mingus' recreation of his trip to Tijuana. The alternate takes only add to the pleasure, and the exhaustive notes help you appreciate the background of this recording.

When Mingus gets that swing going, the mood is sublime and exhilerating, what a ride! Glad I followed the advice of a previous reviewer, and paid the extra for the two-disc version with the alternate recordings on a second disc: double the Mingus! Fantastic!

THIS CD WOULD HAVE SERVED MINGUS'S IMAGE AS A GREAT BASS PLAYER IF IT HAD REMAINED IN A VAULT.