Product details
- Label Mercury
- Artist Charles Mingus
- Series Acoustic Sounds Series
- Format 1LP
- Country Germany
- Released Date 2023
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed Yes
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Pre-Bird by Charles Mingus.
"Pre-Bird" captures Charles Mingus at a moment of restless creative ambition, gathering compositions that reach back across his development and casting them in the bold, sprawling voice that made him one of the most singular figures in jazz. This Verve Records release brings the album back into circulation with the care of a modern reissue, drawing on the recordings Mingus committed to tape over two sessions in the spring of 1960.
The music itself was set down on two consecutive days. Tracks A4, B2, and B3, meaning "Mingus Fingus No. 2," "Bemoanable Lady," and "Half-Mast Inhibition," were recorded on May 24, 1960. The remaining pieces, A1 through A3, A5, and B1, followed on May 25, 1960, rounding out a program that moves fluidly between homage and invention.
Side A opens with "Take The 'A' Train," folding in an interpolation of "Exactly Like You," a nod to the Ellington and Tin Pan Alley lineage that always ran through Mingus's imagination. From there the side stretches into "Prayer For Passive Resistance," the brooding "Eclipse," the buoyant "Mingus Fingus No. 2," and the atmospheric "Weird Nightmare," a sequence that showcases the composer's ability to shift moods without losing the thread of his own personality.
The flip continues in the same spirit. "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" arrives with an interpolation of "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart," another gesture toward the standards repertoire, before "Bemoanable Lady" and the sweeping "Half-Mast Inhibition" close the record. Together these performances underline why "Pre-Bird" remains a favorite among listeners who want to hear Mingus tackling both the familiar and the daring within a single statement.
Originally released in 1961 on Mercury Records, the album now appears under the Verve banner, © 2023 UMG Recordings, Inc., and distributed by Universal Music Enterprises, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. The runouts carry their own quiet story: the markings are etched, with the exception of "STERLING," which appears as a stamp, a small detail that collectors of pressings will appreciate.
For anyone building a Mingus shelf or exploring the wider terrain of postwar jazz, "Pre-Bird" is an essential document. It shows a composer and bandleader unafraid to place a beloved Ellington tune beside his own thorny originals, treating the entire tradition as raw material for his vision. A record that rewards close listening and repeated spins, it earns its place among the great Mingus statements of the era.
Pressing Details:
Recorded May 24, 1960 were tracks A4, B2 & B3. Recorded May 25 1960 were tracks A1 to A3, A5, & B1.
A Verve Records release; Originally released in 1961 on Mercury Records © 2023 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Distributed by Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Runouts are etched except "STERLING" is stamped.
Track Listing:
A1. Take The "A" Train (Interpolation: Exactly Like You)
A2. Prayer For Passive Resistance
A3. Eclipse
A4. Mingus Fingus No. 2
A5. Weird Nightmare
B1. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me (Interpolation: I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart)
B2. Bemoanable Lady
B3. Half-Mast Inhibition
Artist: Charles Mingus
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: Mercury
Catalog Number: B0037368-01
Series: Acoustic Sounds Series
Release Year: 2023
Country: Germany
Condition: Sealed (New)
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