Jazz & Blues Lounge

I am declaring this Mingus Monday. I have no idea why other than I was rooting around online for some cool jazz to listen to and came across some of Charles and his and from 1975 which you will see below. He was playing live at Montreux at the time and playing his classic “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” I don’t even know what a Pork Pie Hat is, but I like the music.

For me, my all-time favorite Charles Mingus tune is called “Haitian Fight Song.” You will be hard-pressed to find a tune that builds in intensity quite like that one. By the end the music is blasting and the musicians are yelling and, well, you really are ready to go and fight someone, Haitian or otherwise.

Charles was an interesting guy. He was an intimidating looking man. On most of his album covers he never seems to be smiling and he was a very large man. His chosen instrument was the stand-up bass and that takes a bear of a man to play it the way he did.

Not only was he a great writer and player of music, he was a leader. He often put together legendary bands and he was a man with an eye for up and coming talent. Heck, there is still a Charles Mingus Big Band that shows up places like the Chicago Jazz Festival and blows the house down and Charles has been long gone for some time now. It is still a name that brings out the best in people and finds the young talent.

So, for your Monday, relax. Don’t worry so much about work right now or getting the kids off to school or whatever it is that is occupying your mind. Take ten minutes and watch the video below, or just sit back and listen. It’s mellow, and it’s jazz at its best and it’s a great way to start off your Monday…a Mingus Monday.

And just because I mentioned it, here is “Haitian Fight Song.” There’s no real video here, so just listen to it. This should get the blood pumping for you.

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