My Top 100 Albums: #90 - Charles Mingus, ‘Mingus Ah Um’
90.
Charles Mingus, ‘Mingus Ah Um’
Columbia, 1959
Charles Mingus was a rather unique artist amongst his contemporaries . Firstly, it was not common for a double-bassist to be a bandleader, that duty was generally taken up by those wielding the flashier, solo instruments like the trumpet, saxophone or piano. Secondly, he was not classically trained like many of the other great jazz composers. Thirdly, he was overtly politically-motivated in an era when black musicians tended to either shy away from politics to protect their careers, or practice their politics in more private and abstract ways. His undisguised dissent would ultimately lead to him getting blacklisted and sidelined in the politically-charged ‘60s, but back in 1959 Mingus was releasing the critically-acclaimed Ah Um, an album greatly inspired by the big band and bebop movements of the ‘30s and ‘40s that had represented Mingus’ education in jazz, but one that was certainly forward-thinking and would ultimately pave the way for the transition from the somewhat apolitical and refined “cool jazz” era into the expressive, emotive and politically-charged “hard bop” that dominated the early 1960s. 1959 was a massive year in jazz music, with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck and Ornette Coleman each releasing top-selling albums that represented their own unique blueprints for the future of jazz, but Mingus Ah Um possesses a quality that can feel lacking from those other records: a down-to-earth style and appreciation for listenability as well as musicality. Perhaps it’s an appreciation of his roots - whether that’s the boogie-woogie of Boogie Stop Shuffle, the big-band sentimentality of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (a tribute to saxophonist Lester Young), or the delta blues style in Jelly Roll (referring to blues-roots musician Jelly Roll Morton). On arguably the stand-out track from this record, Fables of Faubus, Mingus heckles Arkansas governor Orval Faubus for his defence of segregation in schools (although this version was recorded without the scathing lyrics by decree of Columbia Records). While appreciating the path that jazz took to get here, Mingus looks forward to a jazz genre free from racist interference. Fables paves the way for protest jazz in the vein of Coltrane’s famous 1964 track Alabama. The frantic and violent Bird Calls evokes Charlie Parker while taking a tentative step toward the later free jazz movement. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is so timeless that it would go on to be covered by artists as diverse as Jeff Beck and Joni Mitchell. Astute editing and production from Columbia’s Teo Macero (who had also produced Davis and Brubeck’s records from this year) make Mingus Ah Um a deft and exemplary journey through eras and styles that feels very much in retrospect like the calm before the storm of political turmoil in the 1960s.
Hidden Highlight: Bird Calls
Better Git in Your Soul
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Boogie Stop Shuffle
Self-Portrait in Three Colors
Open Letter to Duke
Bird Calls
Fables of Faubus
Pussy Cat Dues
Jelly Roll