Charles Mingus - Pre-Bird (1960)

Tracklist

01 - Take the 'A' Train
02 - Prayer for Passive Resistance
03 - Eclipse
04 - Mingus Fingus No. 2
05 - Weird Nightmare
06 - Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
07 - Bemoanable Lady
08 - Half-Mast Inhibition

personnel :

Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – John LaPorta
Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
Baritone Saxophone – Danny Bank
Bass – Charles Mingus
Cello – Charles McCracken
Drums – Dannie Richmond
Flute – Robert DiDomenica
Oboe – Harry Schulman
Percussion – George Scott, Sticks Evans
Piano – Paul Bley, Sir Roland Hanna
Tenor Saxophone – Bill Barron, Booker Ervin
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Joe Farrell, Yusef Lateef
Trombone – Charles Greenlee, Eddie Bert, Jimmy Knepper, Slide Hampton
Trumpet – Clark Terry, Hobart Dotson, Marcus Belgrave, Richard Williams, Ted Curson
Tuba – Don Butterfield
Vocals – Lorraine Cusson

This pair of 1960 studio sessions represents some of Charles Mingus' best arrangements. Leading the smaller of two groups, he interpolates "Exactly Like You" into a driving version of "Take the 'A' Train" and adds a soulful blues, "Prayer for Passive Resistance," both of which feature great solos by tenor saxophonists Booker Ervin, Yusef Lateef, and Joe Farrell. A much larger ensemble is utilized on three tracks, including the advanced bop "Mingus Fingus No. 2" and "Bemoanable Lady," which features a rather strangely conservative alto sax solo by Eric Dolphy. Less successful are Lorraine Curson's vocals on the dissonant "Eclipse" and pulsating "Weird Nightmare." But this reissue, re-released previously under the title Mingus Revisited, has received a superb 24-bit remastering and also includes a number of photos from the sessions.~Ken Dryden