By:
Howie Klein on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 8:00 PM - PST
Nogales-born/Watts-raised Charles Mingus was only in his 50s when he died (of Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1979. He was a musical giant, a composer and band leader, one of the greatest jazz bassists of all times, as well as an outspoken campaigner for racial tolerance and justice. His music was always considered as challenging as it was powerful. He grew up listening to church music and “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting” is practically a gospel composition.
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Thanx for the Mingus amungst us !
He really sends me!
( Tell m charlie sent ya)
awesome! better get (h)it in your soul, was my wedding march song. Beneath the Underdog is an excellent read.
Thanks, C & L.
Mighty good Mingus!
Medford Tim’s Song(s)
O’the Day - audio only
Tonight’s selections:
The Roof Is Leaking - Phil Collins
The Wizard - Uriah Heep
The City - Mark-Almond Band
Charlie, we loved you so. You were a hero, a giant, a visionary, one of the greatest. You took the best of Ellington and fused it with Parker and rolled it with your own amazing soul, and created ahhh umm gumbo.
Thank you very much. Now it time go hawg-call’n
You know, the reason Mingus wrote “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting” was that a critic had written that Mingus could play, compose, and improvise, but that he couldn’t swing.
Show’d ‘em sumthin’ huh?
Boogie Stop Shuffle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePMvgRGm73U
This version sounds like an alternate take to me (from Mingus Ah Um).
Ahhhh Mingus. I love it. Ya’ll should check out Pithecanthropis Erectus, Mingus Ah Um, Better Git It In Your Soul, The Clown, ahhh they’re all great. This song is from Blues and Roots I believe. The whole album swings your face off. There’s a great documentary on Mingus called Beneath The Underdog. I highly recommend it. Cheers!!
Beneath the Underdog is also the title of his autobiography…great read. The guy makes Wilt Chamberlain seem modest.
I encourage Mingus fans to dig his Cumbia & Jazz Fusion (1976).
One of my favorites off of the Blues & Roots record, first track. First time I heard it I was blown away.
orange was the color of her dress, then blue silk…
I just got home from working the polling station here in L.A. County and I really needed to unwind my wound up head and Charlie was perfect. thanks for the post.
Mingus! All right!
this is dedicated to all the clinton supporters….i love you guys
Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K217GdcrWvc
im voting jello biafra in the general
There was a tribute album put together by Hal Willner in the 90s that didn’t suck at all, I thought. Henry Rollins, Chuck D., The Rolling Stones, Robbie Robertson, Hubert Selby Jr., Elvis Costello, and the music reinterpreted with Partch instruments, kind of found object resonators. Way cool, called Weird Nightmare. REad the autobiography and his wife has a web site, too!
Mingus! Mingus! Mingus!
Hey Bingo @ #17,
Do you mean the Robbie Robertson gospel singer from Minneapolis? If so, I love that voice! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay underrated !! My favorite cut is a powerful,bluesy/gospel song called, “WALK WITH ME” !!! It gives chills like Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig in the Sky” vocal tour de force on the Dark side of the moon LP.(can’t remember name of vocalist)
Regarding Mingus….
Santana did a tribute song to him called “Mingus” on his BLUES for SALVADOR cd back in ‘87? or perhaps it was the MILAGRO cd back in ‘92.?
Either way, both those cds jam. I know that the Blues for Salvador one was dedicated to Miles Davis when he passed and it won BEST guitar instrumental cd in ‘87. Some mean wah wah pedal work on a 7 minute solo jam called DEEPER,dig Deeper !! Billy Gibbons would be proud of that jam.
Hey, let me know whether you meant gospel singer Robbie Robertson from Minneapolis in your post ? I will definitly look up the album you recommended, thanks for the tip!
“Money Jungle” is one of my favorite jazz albums.
Underproduced and raw–Mingus, Ellington and Max Roach basically jamming in the studio.
http://music.barnesandnoble.co.....&itm=1
Here’s the real Mingus dingus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B707Ava4wrY
“mingus at monterey”, tha album which contains “orange”, was sold only thru mingus and is a real classic! don’t know the year, but it was the seventh annual..he was a genius, no question.
Slabo @ 19:
Hey gang, That Wilner CD is called, “Weird nightmare” and it’s actually a minor MASTERPIECE, IMHO..
It was a great intro to Mingus music for me. I noted all of my favorite interpretations from the “Nightmare” disc, then set about finding the original Mingus versions of ‘em. “Tonite at Noon” is a great example. In some ways i actually like the “Nightmare” version even better than most of the Mingus versions.
Oh yeah, and thanks for the Mingus, Howie.
-Lip
man, thanks for the footage…the first album my mother ever bought me was Mingus @ Antibes, and the rendition of this tune on that LP was a revelation, especially the rowdy screams coming from Mingus and guest Bud Powell. In truth I was a little disappointed when I opened the xmas wrapping (it was 1976. I probably wanted a KISS album)
Only later did I realize how hip my mom was.
DJS
Thanks for posting Mingus. This is my favorite tune from Blues & Roots.