Charles Mingus

Artist: Charles Mingus
Genre: Jazz
Release Date: 1994
Label: Atlantic
Catalog Number: 73748
Recording: Studio
Length: 01:6:59
Format: CD (1 Used)

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Oh Yeah (CD)

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Condition	Format	Price
Media Condition: Good CD Comments: Remastered with 3 Bonus Tracks. Review When the first thing to note about a Charles Mingus record is that jazz’s bassist extraordinaire plays no bass on it, you know you’re in for an unusual ride. Recorded in 1962, Oh Yeah finds Mingus instead singing some of the wildest compositions of his career and playing piano. Though still steeped in the traditions of the blues, this wildly swinging session featured saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, whose own radical explorations (he was known for playing more than one saxophone at a time) suited Mingus’ own experimental nature. And like a pair of enfant terrible trying to outdo each other, their chemistry is volatile. The hard-swinging “Hog Callin’ Blues” finds Kirk blowing and honking like a madman, whether to follow the furious pace or spur it on, it’s difficult to tell but wildly exhilarating in any case. “Devil Woman” slows the pace to a swampy blues, Mingus hollering out non sequitur couplets in a voice whose earthy confidence matches the slinky nature of the composition. Booker Ervin, augmenting Kirk on tenor, blows beautifully here, and trombonist Jimmy Knepper lets Mingus inject some warmth and humor into the proceedings. Drummer Dannie Richmond is joined on the backline by Doug Watkins, who probably deserved a medal just for agreeing to play bass on a Mingus record, but he turns out to be up to the formidable task. Thelonius Monk was the inspiration behind “Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am,” as Mingus even cops his fellow mad genius’ awkward block chords while the horns create a cacophony of traffic jam noise that somehow keeps the melody in sight. The composer combines his gospel background and Ellington fixation into “Ecclusiastics,” and with the next track subverts the sentiment with the Beats poetry flavored “Oh Lord Don’t Let Them Drop the Atomic Bomb On Me.” Some of the experiments weren’t quite as successful, as the New Orleans feel of “Eat That Chicken” and Mingus’ silly lyrics feel more novelty-like than ground-breaking or cathartic. The original disc ended with “Passions of a Man,” as close as Mingus ever got to true avant garde, burying the melody and most of the rhythms beneath nonsense lyrics (sung in what sounds like a dialect consisting of Spanish and Swahili) and off-putting horn and string sounds that recall found sound. The Atlantic reissue adds three songs recorded at, but left off, this session that appeared on Tonight At Noon, including the two most straightforward tracks, the beautiful “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” and “Invisible Lady.” Undeniably weird, often brilliant, sometimes annoying – Oh Yeah is an essential release in the Mingus catalog that no fan should do without, and frankly just a hell of a lot of fun. -John Schacht		Buy $8.99

Track Listing

Disc 1 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Hog Callin' Blues	Charles Mingus	07:28
2. Devil Woman	Charles Mingus	09:43
3. Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am	Charles Mingus	04:47
4. Ecclusiastics	Charles Mingus	06:59
5. Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me	Charles Mingus	05:43
6. Eat That Chicken	Charles Mingus	04:41
7. Passions Of A Man	Charles Mingus	05:03
8. "Old" Blues For Walt's Torin	Charles Mingus	07:58
9. Peggy's Blue Skylight	Charles Mingus	09:49
10. Invisible Lady	Charles Mingus	04:48

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Oh Yeah (CD)

Charles Mingus

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