Charles Mingus Music

Fables of Faubus is a song composed by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It was written as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers.

The song was first recorded for Mingus' 1959 album, Mingus Ah Um. However, the version recorded on that album lacked the song's lyrics as a result of Columbia Records believing them to be too controversial for release. Consequently, it was not until 1960 that Mingus was able to release the song as originally intended, on the album Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, which was recorded for the more independent Candid label. On this album, in reference to the censorship the song had received, it was titled "Original Faubus Fables".

The personnel for the Candid recording were Charles Mingus (bass, vocals), Dannie Richmond (drums, vocals), Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone), and Ted Curson (trumpet).The song, either with or without lyrics, was one of the compositions which Mingus returned to most often, both on record and in concert.

Parkeriana, this piece, is simply excellent in it's execution and serendipity in the players magic. Most of this recording was captured in Europe in 1964. By this time, Be-Bop had been around for about 20 years. Some of the players of the day were running out of new steam. Not this emsemble! Fresh and innovative! Dolphy's Sax will amaze you. Check it out. Fantastic spin!

I was gifted this box set by my father. Its one of the most prolific records that i have in my collection, a complete coverage of Mingus' best collection and his works.
Great booklet and information, comes in an aptly packaged format. For those who are new to this person, like one reviewer has said, do start with 'Mingus Ah um' first. As mingus is not for everybody and people may react negatively to his works if they start with the wrong record. This collection is his element, a must have once your a mingus fan.

i really wanted this, but it looks as though if the songs are in the wrong order than on the original albums. why would you change the order of the songs? thats just stupid, you wouldn't change the order of Kind of Blue or A Love Supreme or anything would you? why do it here?

The decade from 1956 to 1966 was a period of great discovery, advancement and codification of the music of Charles Mingus. During this time period, his music developed its uniqueness, its edge, that gospel-meets-hard bop with a splash of stride and a hint of free jazz. So many of his masterpieces were recorded during this time period, and his output is pretty much universally of extraordinarily high quality. In 1956, Mingus signed a contract with Atlantic Records, and over the next five years recorded enough material for five studio albums and one brilliant live album as well as finding the time to contribute as a sideman to a Teddy Charles record. This set collects all of that material together with an interview by Nesuhi Ertegun.

The studio records are all pretty much essential-- "Pithecanthropus Erectus", generally regarded as his first masterpiece, opens the set. The band for the session includes alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and pianist Mal Waldron, and finds Mingus' music developing that sort of classical/third stream influence thats been so prevelent to create tunes filled with odd rhythms, aggressive tempo shifts, and fantastic soloing. The title track is one of his best loved pieces, but the entire album is essential.

The album's followup, "The Clown" in not quite as good but no less essential. The first of many Mingus albums to include drummer Dannie Richmond, Mingus is at his most diverse-- taking on ironic comedy (the title track), the blues ("Blue Cee"), Charlie Parker ("Reincarnation of a Love Bird") and his own ferocious blend of jazz, gospel and ethnic musics ("Haitian Fight Song"). The recording is augmented by two extra tracks (which eventually ended up being released as half of "Tonight At Noon"), the somewhat extraneous "Passions of a Woman Loved" and the totally inexplicible "Tonight At Noon". Showing off Mingus' strength as a composer, it races at breakneck speed, changes direction, and makes your head spin through its fractured lines while still holding together brilliantly.

"Blues and Roots" finds Mingus in a different mood, featuring a nonet with four reeds and two trombones, Mingus explores his heritage as a musician, taking on gospel ("E's Flat Ah's Flat Too"), Dixie (standout "My Jelly Roll Soul"), and the blues ("Cryin' Blues") while still managing to sneak in a piece so unique as to defy categorization ("Tensions"). Additionally on this collection, the record is augmented by four alternate tkaes, finding the songs at times embryonic ("My Jelly Roll Soul") and at times just not quite as good.

The final Atlantic studio album during this tenure, "Oh Yeah", is one of the most unique in Mingus' catalog. Featuring Mingus on piano and vocals, most of the vocal numbers are blues shouts that are amusing but fairly unessential ("Devil Woman", "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me") and there's a looseness to the music that weakens it. Still, its nice to hear Roland Kirk guesting with Mingus, and it includes three extra tracks (the second half of "Tonight At Noon") including the first and in many ways best reading of Mingus' "Peggy's Blue Skylight", a lovely feature for Kirk on manzello.

Often in boxed sets, I find live albums to be sort of an extra, but "Mingus at Antibes" could never be thought in such a fashion. Finding Mingus experimenting with free jazz band arrangements and structures, he works without a piano player with several extended performances where reedmen Eric Dolply (in particular) and Booker Ervin as well as trumpeter Ted Curson really cut loose with liquid, fluid lines and powerful improvisations over just the rhythm section of Mingus and Richmond. And just in case an hour of ferocious improv through Mingus originals ("Better Git Hit In Your Soul", the underplayed "What Love?", featuring a brilliant dialog between Mingus and Dolphy, the latter on bass clarinet) wasn't enough, Bud Powell joins the band on encore "I'll Remember April", a superb performance worth the cost of the boxed set by itself.

Mingus' date with Teddy Charles is more of a curiosity than anything else. The music feels pretty uninspired and is at times frustrating-- Mingus is just starting to get cooking on "Just One of Those Things" when it starts to fade out. Similarly, the interview, while interesting, really isn't what anyoen is after with this set, but its a nice-to-have that you'll play once or twice.

The set comes in a large slip cover with two hardcover books-- one contains the six CDs, each housed in their own carboard sleeve, the other contains lengthy liner notes with essays by Sue Mingus, producer Joel Dorn, engineer Tom Dowd, and music historians including a track-by-track analysis. It also features reproductions of the original liner notes from the LP issues of these recordings.

If you're coming into Mingus, I'd suggest purchasing this set. At some point, you'll probably want it (although all the material barring the interview is available separately). If you're a Mingus fan and don't have some of these albums, this is definitely worth the investment. Highly recommended.

This is the most elegant, beautifully produced boxed set I have ever seen. The 120 page hard cover book is lavishly illustrated and rich with high-quality photographs and essays. The 6 discs have their own, very slick book with individual sleeves. Really a high end presentation. The music itself is wonderfully diverse, covering must-have Mingus masterpiece albums - Pithecanthropus Erectus, The Clown, Blues and Roots, Oh Yeah, and Mingus at Antibes.

Considering the amount of great music this compilation contains, it's actually a buy. While the music is uniformly wonderful, I am particularly fond of disc 3, which features a nonet, disc 5, because Mingus and Kirk is a match made in heaven, and disc 3 - live at Antibes. The Anitibes concert is a real take-no-prisoners affair, everybody's working up a sweat. There is some truly astounding interplay between Dolphy, Ervin, Richmond, and of course, the maestro - there's even a celebrity cameo by Bud Powell. I expected the Ertegun interview to be a throwaway but found it very engaging and interesting - this is precisely the kind of added tidbit one expects to receive when going the full distance and purchasing a boxed set. Couldn't be better.

Along with the 1959 Columbia classic, Ah Um, this is essential Charles Mingus(1922-1979).

Probably no other bassist played as big a role as Charles Mingus did in helping shape modern jazz, and probably no other recording of Mingus defines his jazz quite the way this does. The first time I listened to this piece, I got completely lost and couldn't make any sense of it. The second time too. By the third time I heard it, everything began falling into place, and I was toe tappin' and neck snappin' in beat with the tunes. Foggy day is probably one of the most interesting "songs" on the CD, simply to listen for how each musician makes their instrument sound like something off of a busy, crowded street when traffic is not going smoothly. With Mingus to pull the tune along, the effects are executed very brilliantly, and will have you smiling at their intricacy and cleverness. This isn't the most approachable CD in the jazz pantheon, but I think it is one everyone will eventually "get", so it is worth adding to your jazz collection. (The title line, by the way, is from The Rebel Set in The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12 (The Rebel Set / Secret Agent Super Dragon / The Starfighters / Parts: The Clonus Horror), where jazz meets B-movie wise-acres and those who know jazz and love B-movies laugh themselves sick.)

A Mingus fan forever, and I catch the new Mingus groups at the Iridium or Dizzy's in NYC often. Never can get enough of his compositions and the sounds of The Mingus Big Band, Mingus Orch. and Mingus Dynasty and all with Sue Mingus's guidance.
Pithecanthropus Erectus was my introduction to Mingus so many years ago,and I have bought just about everything he and the new groups above have released since then.
Impossible to imagine this original, inventive and simply beautiful music on this album was first released 50 years ago. No one, but no one, can create music like this today. Mingus was trully a genius and it seems he is getting more and more recognition of this.
If your just getting into Mingus's music, this album is a must. The playing by Mingus and the other great young, swinging musicians on this date is more than just creative, and each of the players seems to be just perfect for this masterpiece, which contains some of Charles Mingus's best compositions
Atlantic Records, PLEASE RELEASE A RE-MASTERED VERSION OF IT.Done correctly, today's techknowlogy could do wonders for it. So many lesser albums by lesser artist have been re-mastered. WHY NOT THIS!

I sympathize with Charlie, treated by the world as an uninvited guest, he wants to love, but y'all aren't having any of that. Now I'm Mingus at 45, every bit as volatile, every bit as doomed, just---me got no talent----
you should monitor dishwashers and laundresses---
they're watching you!

For those struggling to "connect" with jazz, coming from a pop music sensibility (where one listens for lyrics and melody instead of texture and interplay, etc.)Mingus is a groovy, humorous breakthrough. With this album I was able to bring my soul and mind back to being a child of 6 or 7 and watching Sesame Street in the safe haven presence of my big daddy reading the Sunday paper. Mingus makes music like clowns make animal balloons and magicians pull rabbits out of hats for children's birthday parties, but not in some creepy overacting way, in a very cool, 1960s-70s Sesame Street way, the muppets way. Horns interact like they're loony muppet birds speaking to one another in a comical but beautiful language.... repeating each other's questions as textures shift and change. Best of all is how Mingus connects modern jazz with bebop, big band, and the sound of the blues. He's like a crazy connect the dots painter, linking Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to Sun Ra in one crazy technicolor brush stroke. That said, the horns and sirens of Foggy Day are really annoying after 2 seconds and the tambourine in "Love Dance" seems really off sometimes, like some musician's little kid or jazz workshop janitor got in on the scene, picking up the one instrument no one was using. Other than that, this is a masterpiece.

This mini-lp replica sleeve is a real treat for fans as it very faithfully copies in great detail the original lp design. The remastered sound also makes the sound quality of this album a real pleasure to listen to as well. This is a worthwhile addition to any jazz fan's musical library. Recommended.