- Mingus (album)
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Mingus 
Studio album by Joni Mitchell Released June 13, 1979[1] Recorded 1978-1979 at A&M Studios, Hollywood and Electric Lady Studios, New York Genre Folk jazz, Vocal jazz Length 37:20 Label Asylum Producer Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell chronology Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
(1977)Mingus
(1979)Shadows and Light
(1980)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
linkRobert Christgau (C+) link Mingus is the tenth studio album by Joni Mitchell, and a collaboration with jazz musician Charles Mingus. Recorded in the months before his death, it would be Mingus's final musical project; the album is wholly dedicated to him.
The album is quite experimental, featuring minimalist jazz, overplucked, buzzing acoustic guitars, and even wolves howling through "The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey". All of the lyrics are by Mitchell, while the music for four of the songs was composed by Mingus, three being new tunes, a fourth being his tribute to saxophonist Lester Young from his 1959 classic Mingus Ah Um, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", for which Mitchell wrote a set of lyrics.
As with the release preceding, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Mitchell hired personnel from jazz fusion group Weather Report to play on the sessions. Mingus would also mark the first reunion of saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Herbie Hancock in the studio since recording together on Shorter's seminal Native Dancer album, featuring Milton Nascimento, released in September 1974.
The album is spliced with excerpts (labelled "(Rap)") from tape recordings provided by Sue Graham Mingus, including a scat singing interplay between Joni and Mingus, and Charles and Sue arguing over his age at a birthday party. In "Funeral", Mingus and others discuss how long he'll live and what his funeral will be like. He refers to the Vedanta Society and asserts that "I'm going to cut Duke [Ellington]!". "God Must Be a Boogie Man" was the only song Mingus was unable to hear, having taken shape two days after his death; Mitchell posits in the liner notes that Mingus would have found it hilarious.
The artwork features several paintings by Mitchell of Mingus. It peaked at #17 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Contents
Track listing
All lyrics by Joni Mitchell; music by Mitchell, except where indicated
- "Happy Birthday 1975" (Rap) – 0:57
- "God Must Be a Boogie Man" – 4:35
- "Funeral" (Rap) – 1:07
- "A Chair in the Sky" (Charles Mingus) – 6:42
- "The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey" – 6:35
- "I's a Muggin'" (Rap) – 0:07
- "Sweet Sucker Dance" – 8:04 (Mingus)
- "Coin in the Pocket" (Rap) – 0:11
- "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" (Mingus) – 3:21
- "Lucky" (Rap) – 0:04
- "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (Mingus) – 5:37
Personnel
- Joni Mitchell - guitar, vocals
- Jaco Pastorius - bass, horn arrangement on "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines"
- Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone
- Herbie Hancock - electric piano
- Peter Erskine - drums
- Don Alias - congas
- Emil Richards - percussion
Sample
See also
- River: The Joni Letters
References
- ^ "Mingus by Joni Mitchell". Rate Your Music. http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/joni_mitchell/mingus/. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
Joni Mitchell Studio albums Song to a Seagull (1968) · Clouds (1969) · Ladies of the Canyon (1970) · Blue (1971) · For the Roses (1972) · Court and Spark (1974) · The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) · Hejira (1976) · Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977) · Mingus (1979) · Wild Things Run Fast (1982) · Dog Eat Dog (1985) · Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988) · Night Ride Home (1991) · Turbulent Indigo (1994) · Taming the Tiger (1998) · Both Sides Now (2000) · Travelogue (2002) · Shine (2007)Live albums Miles of Aisles (1974) · Shadows and Light (1980) · Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace (2009)Compilation albums The World of Joni Mitchell (1972) · Hits (1996) · Misses (1996) · The Complete Geffen Recordings (2003) · The Beginning of Survival (2004) · Dreamland (2004) · Songs of a Prairie Girl (2005)Singles & key songs "Night in the City" (1968) · "Both Sides, Now" (1969) · "Chelsea Morning" (1969) · "Big Yellow Taxi" (1970) · "Woodstock" (1970) · "Carey" (1971) · "California" (1971) · "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" (1972) · "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" (1973) · "Raised on Robbery" (1973) · "Help Me" (1974) · "Free Man in Paris" (1974) · "Big Yellow Taxi" (live) (1974) · "In France They Kiss on Main Street" (1976) · "Coyote" (1976) · "Jericho" (1978) · "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (1980) · "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" (1982) · "Be Cool" (1983) · "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody" (1983) · "Good Friends" (1985) · "Shiny Toys" (1986) · "Snakes and Ladders" (1988) · "My Secret Place" (1988) · "Come in From the Cold" (1991) · "How Do You Stop?" (1994) · "Big Yellow Taxi EP" (1995) · "Harlem in Havana" (1988)Collaborations "You've Got a Friend" (1971) · The Last Waltz (1978) · The Wall - Live in Berlin (1990) · "Got 'til It's Gone" (1994) · River: The Joni Letters (2007) The Fiddle and The Drum (2009)Videos Shadows and Light (1980) · Refuge of the Roads (1983) · Painting with Words and Music (1999) · Woman of Heart and Mind (2003)Related articles Discography · Albums · SongsCategories:- 1979 albums
- Joni Mitchell albums
- Asylum Records albums
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