Record collection revisited: The Essential Mingus Big Band

First off, I must write a disclaimer.  This record is not an original Mingus album.  Rather it is a reformation in a way of Charlie Mingus’ band for a tribute to him, playing all his major songs.  The genius bassist was a wild man and so were the guys in his band.  They were definitely rock stars, showing up drunk to performances and still playing, but probably causing a lot of antics onstage and off.  This record features all those zany, wild elements of Mingus’ original band with a bunch of players who probably did play with Mingus in the latter part of his career.  But, all his major songs covered here, are indeed Mingus compositions.  The idea for this project came from Charlie Mingus’ widow, Sue Mingus.7

Some of them are very intriguing and some, humorous.  The humor side really shows on off the wall tracks like “Eat That Chicken” and “Moanin’ “, which in and of itself is a serious tune, but the beginning has the band cheering on the baritone sax player on his opening solo.  Here is the track listing for the Mingus tribute album.  Also, a lot of these songs are available in original form.  I might discuss some of them in other posts.  The idea for this blog post came basically from my posting of Stanley Clarke’s cover of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, one of Mingus’ all time classics.

Here’s the track listing for the tribute album:

 

1.       Haitian Fight Song

 

2.       Gunslinging Bird

 

3.       Eat That Chicken

4.       Self Portrait in Three Colors

 

5.       Moanin’

6.       Boogie Stop Shuffle

      

7.       Nostalgia in Times Square

8.       Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

9.       Medley: Fables of Faubus/Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Credited arrangers & soloists on each track:

 

1.       Haitian Fight Song (arr. Sy Johnson) = Boris Kozlov: bass, Alex Foster: soprano saxophone, Randy Brecker: trumpet, John Hicks: piano, Jonathan Blake: drums

2.       Gunslinging Bird (arr. Steve Slagle) = Adam Cruz: drums, David Lee Jones: alto saxophone, Ku-umba Frank Lacy: trombone

3.       Eat That Chicken (arr. Ronnie Cuber) = Ku-umba Frank Lacy: trombone

4.       Self Portrait In Three Colors (arr. Charles Mingus) No solos

5.       Moanin’ (arr. Sy Johnson) = Ronnie Cuber: baritone saxophone, Ryan Kisor: trumpet, Art Baron: trombone

6.       Boogie Stop Shuffle (arr. Sy Johnson) = Ryan Kisor: trumpet, Gary Bartz: alto saxophone, Kenny Drew Jr.: piano, Adam Cruz: drums

7.       Nostalgia in Times Square (arr. Ronnie Cuber) = Ronnie Cuber: narration, baritone saxophone: Randy Brecker: trumpet, Kenny Drew Jr.: piano, Michael Formanek: bass

8.       Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (arr. Sy Johnson) = Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone, Boris Koslov: bass

9.       Fables of Faubus/Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Fables of Faubus (arr. Steve Slagle)  Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (arr. The Mingus Big Band Workshop) = Phil Harper: trumpet & Steve Slagle: alto saxophone 

So, no, this record is not a definitive Mingus recording.  But, as a tribute to the man and his music, it stands up well for what it is and is very enjoyable to listen to if you are a Mingus fan or a big band jazz fan.  For definitive recordings by Mingus, I suggest fully researching him, because he was an amazing, genius bassist and composer who brought many contributions to the jazz world.