FAVORITE MINGUS TUNE

[Fat Tony XIII]

It's really impossible for me to pick a favorite, they all pretty much rule but for the sake of getting this thread rolling i'm gonna pick Hatian Fight Song. Just something about that driving repetitive bass line (rarely found in jazz IMO) it's a primal force. I really love the way the song builds from the intro solo to the horns blazing, it makes me want to climb on my bass like horse and ride it into battle.

peace- tony

[peteroberts]

I really dig Pithecanthropus Erectus...his story of evolution...some of the parts are way, way out, but the melody is really cool, and the stops kind of kick it in the butt.

[Zachmozach]

Orange was the color of her dress then silk blue. I've got a really great recording from the europe tour of 64 with Dolphy that just makes me almost numb everytime I hear it.

[Marcus Johnson]

The one that always pops into my head when I think about Mr. Mingus (which is often) is "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA". After that, it's "Birdcalls".

Great thread subject!

[Jake]

It's really hard to say because the man wrote so many great songs. My favorite 4 (not in order):

1) Peggy's Blue Skylight - I think that's what it's called. I have the Dolphy/Jordan/Byard group playing on the live '64 recordings on Revenge label.
2) Nostalgia in Times Square - Simple but awesome and powerfull. I really like the live version recorded at an art gallery, Mingus' Wonderland I think it's called from around '59
3) What Love - With Eric Dolphy on the Live @ Antibes in '60
4) Goodbye Porkpie Hat - Call me lame for naming his most famous tune, but that song is amazing. I like the '50's Columbia album Mingus Ah Um

It's really hard to get it down to small number of tunes. I also love the extended composition Meditations on Intergration on the '64 Live at Town Hall album and the Revenge live recordings from that year. Also, the Mingus Wonderland tune (I am not sure of the exact name) is so beautiful on the same album that Nostalgia is on. The bass sounds great on that album and there are a lot of innovative beautiful bass solos on that one.

[FredH]

Although written to protest anti-integrationist Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, I find the tune “Fables of Faubus” upbeat in a kind of silly/goofy way. Not to say the melody is simplistic, far from it, but it has a subtle humor reminiscent of some of Monk stuff. At this moment my fav.
But coming up with a Mingus favorite is too hard, it’s like trying to pick a favorite Playboy bunny…

[Nadav]

All of the above.
I'll also add Tijuana Gift Shop and Ysabel's Table Dance from Tijuana Moods.

[Andrew Noury]

Hatian Fight Song

The beginning sends chills down my spine every time.

[Jazzin']

Sue's Changes
Moanin' Mambo
Goodbye Porkpie Hat
Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Then Blue Silk
So Long Eric

[Houston]

My 2 cents worth:

"E's Flat and Ah's Flat Too"
II B. S."

[Blacimbla]

Oh god, Moanin'! It's one of my favorite songs ever...Of course, I'm a bari sax player, so I'm a little biased on that front. If you have a band that can do it, man...that song just roars.

Edit: Just remembered that Tito Puente did a sweet version of this song, too...it sounds good as a latin tune but I prefer the original. Just thought I'd add that.

[Nate]

Damn...Houston stole my favorite one's. Those are probably the best, along with "Freedom" from Mingusx5 and "Moanin'" from Blues and Roots.

[musicman5string]

Well, if we take it as it was supposed to be one long "composition", then "Epitaph" wins for me; it's comparable to Stravinsky imo.

But, favorite Mingus "tunes" of mine would have to be:
-anything off Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
-anything off Ah Um
-Nostalgia In Times Square
-Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress Then Blue Silk
-Fables Of Faubus
-Haitian Fight Song (II B.S.)

[Reuben]

Another vote here for Orange, then Blue.

[Gornick]

How about "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am" off of Oh Yeah. Kinda a Sun Ra type head off of "What is this thing called love" changes with Rashann spinning.

I like Peggy's Blue alot too... the treatment in Richman's documentary is really interesting.


Also "Boogie Stop Shuffle" off of Ah Um, which I believe was the inspiration for The Batman Theme.


One for Goodbye Pork Pie and Moanin' too.

[deaf pea]

For me it's ALWAYS been "Fables of Faubus" . . . and I especially like the version recorded for "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus" on Candid with vocals!

also, any of the blues things . . . ("Folk Forms, No. 1" for instance)

[Chrix]

I just heard a recording last night that he did with an orchestra. The tune was called "Half-Mast Inhibition" and just blew my mind. Otherwise, I've always been a fan of "Boogie Stop Shuffle" as well as "Open Letter to Duke" and "Gunslinging Bird." But it's hard to pick favourites, that's for sure.

[sibass89]

It's pretty hard to narrow it down to favorite Mingus tunes but I can narrow it down to maybe Moanin', and Orange was the Color of her Dress then Blue Silk.

[Aaron Saunders]

Moanin' was definitely his most accessible tune off of the "Very Best of Charles Mingus" CD that I initially started off with, so that was my favourite for a long time.

Since then, I love every piece of Mingus I've heard. Favourites would have to be Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Self-Portrait in Three Colours, and Reincarnation of a Lovebird.

[Steve Killingsworth]

Goodbye Porkpie Hat and Boogie Stop Shuffle are hard to beat.