380. Charles Mingus, "Mingus Ah Um"

 


This album is making me rethink my longstanding aversion to jazz.  I could actually see myself putting this on again and listening to it of my own volition, which is not something I thought would ever happen with a jazz album.  When we last encountered jazz in the form of Ornette Coleman, it was so disjointed and skittish that even someone who loved it said it was like an "atom bomb falling on a chicken coop."  But this is not that kind of jazz!  It is, I learned, be-bop, and I know I sound like someone who has just come to your country and thank you how to use money please but there are actual songs with structure and recurring themes.  It's actually fine background music!  I guess it could be foreground music too if you're not me.

I'm not alone in my feelings about Ornette Coleman.  Guess who else was dubious about it?  CHARLES MINGUS JR.!!!  He said, about Coleman, "...if the free-form guys could play the same tune twice, then I would say they were playing something... Most of the time they use their fingers on the saxophone and they don't even know what's going to come out. They're experimenting."  Same, Charles, same.

Back to this record.  I think I got "Boogie Stop Shuffle" right away.  This album was recorded in New York City, and this song literally sounds like New York City.  Like, I was picturing people hurrying out of a subway station in my head as I was listening to it.  It's great!  And the album opener, "Better Get Hit In Your Soul," I could fuck with that again.  It's got a fun horn riff.  Are they called "riffs" when it's brass?  I don't know.

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