January 29, 1998
I'm a sucker for bass lines. They're usually the first thing I notice about a song, as they provide the often overlooked heart of a tune buried underneath the more obvious melody. But there's no overlooking Mingus. A big band composer in the tradition of Duke Ellington but with the fiery passion of Dizzy Gillespie's ensemble work, Mingus as a bassist is, in a word, formidable.
The first Mingus composition I ever heard was "Hora Decubitus", and it literally struck me speechless; I was shellshocked by the overwhelming power of that throbbing bass. UNH professor Les Fisher said it best: Mingus sounds as if he's pulling his band along, the soaring horns in tow behind his massive sound. He was an exacting band leader too, often stopping his band in the middle of a performance if he heard one of his band members playing something he'd heard before - "You did that last night, play something else!"
Mingus' restless intelligence is in full force on this album. Besides the incredible polyphonic energy of "Hora Decubitus", there's the haunting elegy "Theme For Lester Young" and Ellington composition "Mood Indigo" that show Mingus' talent for pensive melody.
"II BS" opens with a stuttering, mellow statement by Mingus, easing into a foreboding walking bass line; the drums gently announce themselves, and then the dark melody is built by horn upon horn upon horn. Soon the entire 11-piece band erupts into moaning, and it's all Mingus can do to ground the melody, frantically holding the tune together. This is powerful stuff.
Not all of it works; "Better Get It In Yo Soul" is a frenetic rip through a Mingus classic, a valiant attempt to swing furiously in 6/8 time. The original appears on Mingus' Mingus Ah Um; that version is aural ecstasy incarnate, enough to make you yell with joy, but this version is simply too fast. Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus is better on tracks like "Hora Decubitus" and "II BS", when the impassioned blowing is reined in by the tightly wound strings of his incredible bass. This music is vitally and unequivocally alive, desperate and laced with genius. This album and Mingus Ah Um are classics of the genre and show how moving collective improvisation can be. Do yourself a favor and get some Mingus in your soul.
- Jared O'Connor
formidable bass