Pre-Bird

Last updated
Pre-Bird
Mingus-pre-bird-small.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1961
RecordedMay 24–25, 1960
StudioPlaza Sound Studios, NY
Genre Jazz
Length35:20
Label Mercury (1961)
Limelight (1965, as Mingus Revisited)
Producer Leonard Feather
Charles Mingus chronology
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
(1960)
Pre-Bird
(1961)
Mingus
(1961)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]

Pre-Bird (later re-released as Mingus Revisited) is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title Pre-Bird. It was released on Mercury Records in September 1961. [3] [4]

Contents

Recording

The album was recorded over May 24-25 1960 at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City. Tracks 4, 7, and 8 were recorded on the 24th, with tracks 1-3, 5, and 6 recorded the following day. [5]

The album includes two tracks which feature contrapuntal arrangements of swing era pieces, aided by stereo mixing. In the first, "Take the "A" Train" is played in the left channel, paired with "Exactly Like You" in the right channel. The same is done with "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Charles Mingus (except where noted)

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Take The 'A' Train"/"Exactly Like You" Dorothy Fields ("Exactly") Billy Strayhorn/Jimmy McHugh 3:34
2."Prayer For Passive Resistance"  3:49
3."Eclipse"  3:45
4."Mingus Fingus No. 2"  3:22
5."Weird Nightmare"  3:35
6."Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me"/"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" Bob Russell/Irving Mills, Henry Nemo, John Redmond Duke Ellington (all)3:33
7."Bemoanable Lady"  4:22
8."Half-Mast Inhibition"  8:12

Personnel

Personnel via MusicBrainz . [5]

Brass

Woodwinds

Vocals

Keys

Strings

Percussion

Production

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References

  1. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1002. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  2. Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 140. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  3. "New LP Releases". Billboard Music Week . The Billboard Publishing Co. 11 Sep 1961. p. 18. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  4. "September Album Releases" (PDF). Cash Box . The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 16 Sep 1961. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Pre-Bird". MusicBrainz . 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2024-10-29.