Mingus
Studio album by
Joni Mitchell
ReleasedJune 13, 1979
Recorded1978–1979
StudioA&M (Hollywood) and Electric Lady (New York)
GenreJazz fusion
Length37:20
LabelAsylum
ProducerJoni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell chronology
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
(1977) 		Mingus
(1979) 		Shadows and Light
(1980)
Singles from Mingus
  1. "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines"
    Released: July 1979
"God Must Be a Boogie Man"
from Mingus by Joni Mitchell, Asylum Records, 1979. Sample from Mingus Asylum Records/Elektra Entertainment Group, 1979
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Mingus is the tenth studio album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released on June 13, 1979, and was her last studio album for Asylum Records.[1] The album is a collaboration between Mitchell and Charles Mingus. It was recorded in the months before and after Mingus' death in January 1979 and is wholly dedicated to him. The album is one of Mitchell's most experimental and jazz-centric works. Mingus originally wrote six compositions (entitled "Joni I-VI") for Mitchell to write lyrics for; three of these pieces were included on the album. Two other tracks written exclusively by Mitchell are included, alongside a new version of Mingus' standard "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", featuring lyrics written by Mitchell. In addition to these, five spoken word tracks (denoted as "raps") are dispersed throughout the album.

Mitchell is backed on the album by Jaco Pastorius (who had also contributed to Mitchell's two previous albums) on fretless bass, Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Peter Erskine on drums and Don Alias on percussion. Mingus received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 17 in the US. "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" was released as a single to promote the album, but did not chart. Mitchell would tour to promote the album through 1979–80; performances from these concerts would be documented on the live album Shadows and Light (1980).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Pitchfork5.5/10[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "the melodies have a little wider range and a more legitimate jazz feeling to them than Mitchell could compose, but given Mitchell's peculiar vocal talent, what started out Mingus ended up sounding just like Joni Mitchell, moving forward once again into new territory."[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Happy Birthday 1975" (Rap)—Mildred J. Hill0:57
2."God Must Be a Boogie Man"Joni MitchellMitchell4:35
3."Funeral" (Rap)——1:07
4."A Chair in the Sky"MitchellCharles Mingus6:42
5."The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey"MitchellMitchell6:35
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."I's a Muggin'" (Rap)Stuff SmithSmith0:07
2."Sweet Sucker Dance"MitchellMingus8:04
3."Coin in the Pocket" (Rap)——0:11
4."The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines"MitchellMingus3:21
5."Lucky" (Rap)——0:03
6."Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"MitchellMingus5:37

Personnel

Sources:[7][1]

Musicians

Prior to recording the album, Mitchell had several "experimental sessions" with New York musicians who had worked with Mingus. These musicians included:

The recordings of the "experimental sessions", rumored to have been lost, destroyed, or otherwise made unavailable, have become available as bootleg tapes.[citation needed]

The personnel on the actual album were:

Technical

Mixed by Joni Mitchell, Henry Lewy and Steve Katz
Mastered by Bernie Grundman
Personal Management: Elliot Roberts
Paintings by Joni Mitchell
Art direction: Glen Christensen

Recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood by Henry Lewy and Steve Katz
Additional recordings at Electric Lady Studios, New York by Henry Lewy and Jerry Solomon

Charts

Chart performance for Mingus
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 44
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 27
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 24
US Billboard 200[13] 17

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Planer, Lindsay. "Mingus – Joni Mitchell : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ "Joni Mitchell: The Studio Albums 1968–1979". Pitchfork. November 9, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide – Joni Mitchell
  6. ^ McGrath, Paul (May 19, 1979). "Mingus pushes Joni to dip her toe in the lake of jazz". The Globe and Mail. p. P35.
  7. ^ "Mingus". JoniMitchell.com. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4398a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Joni Mitchell – Mingus". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Joni Mitchell – Mingus". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Joni Mitchell Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
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