Pre-Bird
Studio album by
Charles Mingus
ReleasedSeptember 1961[1][2]
RecordedMay 24–25, 1960
GenreJazz
Length35:20
LabelMercury (1961)
Limelight (1965, as Mingus Revisited)
ProducerLeonard 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[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[4]

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.[1][2]

The music is scored for various sized large jazz ensembles and features many soloists prominent at the time of recording. The album includes two tracks which are contrapuntal arrangements of two swing era pieces, whereby "Take the "A" Train" (left channel) is paired with a simultaneous "Exactly Like You" (right channel), and likewise "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" with "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart". Tracks 1 to 3, 5 and 6 recorded May 25, 1960 probably at Plaza Sound, New York City; tracks 4, 7 and 8 recorded May 24, 1960 at Plaza Sound, New York City.[5]

Track listing

  1. "Take the "A" Train" (Billy Strayhorn) / "Exactly Like You" (Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields) – 3:40
  2. "Prayer For Passive Resistance" – 3:57
  3. "Eclipse" – 4:01
  4. "Mingus Fingus No. 2" – 3:39
  5. "Weird Nightmare" - 3:42
  6. "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell) / "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" (Duke Ellington/Irving Mills/Henry Nemo/John Redmond) - 3:41
  7. "Bemoanable Lady" - 4:30
  8. "Half-Mast Inhibition" - 8:14

All compositions by Charles Mingus, except where indicated

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b "New LP Releases". Billboard Music Week. The Billboard Publishing Co. 11 Sep 1961. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b "September Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 16 Sep 1961. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1002. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 140. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ "Charles Mingus – Mingus Revisited (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 31 December 2021.


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