List of Combo Charts for high school competition

After you register, you will receive a link to a packet of these charts and more. This list is only a reference and starting point. Mingus re-recorded many of his compositions, often using varying or completely different titles, and the musical content and interpretations varied just as widely - one of the many rewarding challenges of studying Mingus Music.

Better Get Hit In Your Soul [Mingus Ah Um] — Debuted on Mingus Ah Um, recorded many times after (including Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus). Along with “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting”, it sparked a genre-wide trend of gospel-influenced 6/4 jazz tunes.

Blue Cee [The Clown] — A swinging blues conceived in two keys at once: C and B-flat.

Boogie Stop Shuffle [Mingus Ah Um] — Uptempo Bb minor blues, with a rolling boogie-woogie-derived bass line, layered over by plunger-muted brass punctuations, and an angular melody.

Celia [Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus] — Romantic ballad written for Mingus’ second wife (and co-founder of Debut Records).

Carolyn ‘Keki’ Mingus [Me Myself An Eye] — A loving ballad dedicated to Mingus’ daughter. Also recorded on Lionel Hampton Presents The Music of Charles Mingus (reissued as His Final Work).

Devil Woman [Oh Yeah] — A slow blues, but atypical in meter, form, and harmony. “That means I tried to live a straight-life marriage and afterwards, when it didn’t work, I decided to get me a devil woman — cause angel women don’t mean me no good.” Re-recorded for Me Myself An Eye (1978).

Diane/Alice’s Wonderland [Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland] — A double-ballad, sometimes titled “Diane”, sometimes “Alice’s Wonderland”, sometimes both. The recording on Mingus Dynasty adds another, more abstract melody on top of the original.

Dizzy Moods [Tijuana Moods] — A hard-swinging contrafact of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ‘n’ You”, first recorded with Hampton Hawes for Mingus Three (Trio).

Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love [Changes] — Classic Mingus ballad in Db (the composer’s favorite key), written in loving tribute to then-recently-departed Duke Ellington, with compositional nods to Billy Strayhorn, too. Originally recorded on Changes One (instrumental) and Changes Two (with vocalist), subsequently performed live many times with Mingus’ quintets in the ‘70s.

Duke’s Choice [A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry] — Re-recorded later as the ballad movement of “Open Letter To Duke” (a compilation of earlier Mingus themes) on Mingus Ah Um. Also revisited as “IX Love” for Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus.

East Coasting [East Coasting] — Uptempo bebop workout. “Whatever coast he’s on, a man should be himself. I don’t write in any particular idiom, I write Charles Mingus.”

Ecclusiastics [Oh Yeah] — Slow and soulful gospel-inspired song. The studio recording of this tune features a solo-for-the-ages from multi-simultaneous-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Eclipse [Pre-Bird] — Another of Mingus’ beautiful and enduring ballads, with a challenging melody that utilizes extended/altered chord tones and wide melodic shapes. The composer’s lyrics pose a metaphor about love between people of two different races, despite the intolerant attitudes from the societies surrounding them. The 1961 Pre-Bird recording heard here features vocalist Lorraine Cusson.

E’s Flat, Ah’s Flat Too [Blues & Roots] — A polyphonic layering of uptempo riffs begins with a bass line consisting entirely of octave-wide leaps. Also recorded by the composer as “Hora Decubitus” on Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus and Charles Mingus & Friends In Concert. Elvis Costello later wrote lyrics, recorded by the writer on My Flame Burns Blue with the Metropole Orkest, and by Frank Lacy with the Mingus Big Band (Live At The Jazz Standard)

Fables of Faubus [Mingus Ah Um] — Medium swing multi-strain piece with stop times and feel changes. With his lyrics and title, Mingus sought to disparage then-Governor of Arkansas Orville Faubus, who attempted to use the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the desegregation of public schools. Fearing public backlash, Columbia Records would not allow the lyrics to be recorded for Mingus Ah Um, resulting in Mingus re-recording the piece with lyrics for Candid Records, released as Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus.

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat [Mingus Ah Um] — Perhaps Mingus’ most widely-known composition. A somewhat-spontaneously composed blues ballad with a unique set of chord changes, in tribute and farewell to Lester Young, The President or “Prez” of the tenor saxophone and clarinet.

Gunslinging Bird [Mingus Dynasty] — A racing, 6/4 minor blues. Mingus’ full original title was “If Charlie Parker Were A Gunslinger, There’d Be A Whole Lot of Dead Copycats.”

Haitian Fight Song [The Clown] — An unforgettable Mingus bass riff serves as the foundation for an equally memorable and powerful melody that builds up in-the-round style. Solos are on a swinging G-minor blues. “I was always doing revolutionary things. Things that would alert people like on the island of St. Maarten’s in the Caribbean, they need to be alerted.” -Mingus

Jelly Roll [Mingus Ah Um] — A medium swing 14-bar salutation to Jelly Roll Morton, the pianist and composer who claimed to have invented jazz. Mingus intended for his soloists to play “in the tradition” for the first chorus or so, then bring their statements forward into the post-bebop era. “Jelly Roll” is the melodic inversion of “My Jelly Roll Soul” recorded for Blues & Roots.

Jump Monk [Mingus at the Bohemia] — A medium-up swing composition (or often played uptempo!) in F minor (64-bar AABA form), based on one of Mingus’ favorite chord progressions, which was later reused for “Moanin’.” This tune, a tribute to Thelonious Monk, features collective improvisation sections bracketed by a twisting melodic line encompassing three and a half octaves, stretching the range of any melody instrument!

Moanin’ [Blues & Roots] — 64-bar F-minor uptempo swing, contrapuntal lines anchored by a virally-famous bari sax riff.

Monk, Bunk, and Vice Versa [At Birdland, Oct. 26, 1962] — Bouncing, uptempo tune with a melodic nod to Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t” (hence the title, with another nod to Bunk Johnson). Alternatively known as “Monk, Funk, and Vice-Versa”, this tune was never recorded commercially in the composer’s lifetime, but eventually surfaced as one of the movements of Epitaph (along with a previously-unreleased recording of the Town Hall 1962 performance). Four small-group performances of the tune were preserved via radio broadcast airchecks of several performances by Mingus groups at New York’s famous Birdland jazz club in 1962. (Charles Mingus, b.; Ed Admour, tpt.; Don Butterfield, tuba; Pepper Adams, bari; Charles McPherson, alto; Jaki Byard, pno.; Dannie Richmond, dr.)

Noddin’ Ya Head Blues [Jazz in Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden] — Slow blues in F that debuted in 1972 (check out Mingus Live at Ronnie Scott’s), later recorded for Three or Four Shades of Blues on Atlantic Records.

Nostalgia In Times Square [Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland] — Medium swing blues with unique set of chord changes. Also recorded with lyrics under the title “Strollin’”(Mingus Dynasty, 1959) this tune was originally written for the soundtrack of the John Cassavetes film Shadows.

Oh Lord Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me [Oh Yeah] — The source of the mushroom (cloud) reference on the album cover, this slow blues track features a very personal vocal performance by Charles Mingus himself.

Opus Four [Mingus Moves] — Uptempo, Latin modal vamps, atypical phrase lengths, and a mix of traditional and chromatic harmonic progressions make for a challenging but rewarding tune. Also recorded by the Mingus Dynasty band on the album The Next Generation, featuring notable Mingus alumni such as Jack Walrath and George Adams.

Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk [Cornell 1964] — A bluesy ballad derived from music Mingus wrote for an unrecorded television play. An embryonic version can be found on Mingus Plays Piano, but the incarnation of the tune more widely known and recognized is perhaps best exemplified on the numerous recordings made by Mingus’ legendary 1964 band, with a variety of tempo and feel changes classic to Mingus’ performance style.

“It was written for a Robert Herridge television show. It’s about a talented composer who meets a rich girl that tries to ruin his life. She doesn’t have anything to offer him but money, so she asks him to write a song and dedicate it to her dress, which was orange. She knew that nothing rhymes with ‘orange.’”

O.P. [At Birdland, Oct. 1o, 1962] — Uptempo swinger with Great American Songbook style changes written in tribute to the great bassist & cellist Oscar Pettiford (sometimes titled “O.P. Jr.” for Pettiford’s son). Classic Mingusian workout for soloists, with an AABAC form consisting of 14-bar sections and a brief switch to 3/4 on the bridge, then a tour-de-Cycle-Of-Fourths over a Charleston stop-time feel in the C section. Various other live recordings can be found on the internet, most of them unauthorized. The tune was arranged for big band by Jaki Byard and performed by Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Herd Orchestra featuring the composer on bass, released as Charles Mingus with Orchestra. It was also arranged for even larger ensemble and unearthed after the composer’s death as a movement of Epitaph.

Paris in Blue [Debut Rarities] — A vocal feature for frequent Mingus collaborator Jackie Paris (referenced in the title) in which the protagonist describes his take on having the blues. Slow blues and double-time swing.

Portrait [Debut Rarities] — A classic Mingus ballad (in his favorite key of D-flat) from the early ‘50s, sometimes titled “God’s Portrait” or “Old Portrait”.

Peggy’s Blue Skylight [Mingus at Carnegie Hall] — Recorded many times by the composer, a medium or uptempo swing tune with a great set of chord changes, AAB (more precisely, ababcb) form.

Pithecanthropus Erectus [Pithecanthropus Erectus] — Dynamic medium swing tune featuring tenor and alto sax. The i-bVI-ii-V progression in F minor established here became a favored device used in many Mingus compositions throughout the composer’s career (including “Jump Monk” and “Moanin’”). This is a classic piece often cited as Mingus’ first landmark achievement in progressive jazz composition. Sy Johnson recalls Mingus leading his 1960 band into impromptu meter changes between 6/4 and 4/4 during solos. Mingus later made the rare move of writing a contrafact of his own tune, titled “Opus Three” (Mingus Moves).

Slippers [A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry] — A lesser-known but very jam-worthy Mingus tune originally heard on the Modern Jazz Symposium album. Accessible changes in a standard 32-bar form make this tune a good vehicle for soloists.

So Long Eric [Revenge! The Legendary Paris Concerts] — A 12-bar standard blues, usually played medium-up; Mingus’ musical farewell to Eric Dolphy, written when Dolphy announced his intent to leave the band and reside in Europe. The tune was performed and recorded many times during 1964 and later.

Self-Portrait in Three Colors [Mingus Ah Um] — One of Mingus’ most classic compositions, a ballad from the landmark album Mingus Ah Um, consisting of 3 memorable melodies gradually layered together.

Slop [Mingus Dynasty] — Bluesy 6/4 romp that migrates between the keys of Eb and G, with solos over G blues. Intended as a sound-alike or sequel to “Better Get Hit In Your Soul”, requested by a dance choreographer for CBS TV ballet of “Frankie & Johnny”.

Sue’s Changes [Changes One] — Extended-form composition with a range of style and tempo changes. A loving tribute to Sue Mingus and her arts/culture/politics magazine, Changes.

Tijuana Gift Shop [Tijuana Moods] — An uptempo Latin vamp sets up the 17-bar swing section with a bebop-influenced melody and challenging harmonic progression.

Tensions [Blues & Roots] — Minor-key uptempo swing piece with a unique melody played in echo between two competing front lines. "It's a technically involved composition. I called it that because the guys were tense playing it."

Us Is Two [Charles Mingus And Friends In Concert] — Ellington-inspired, long-form medium-swing tune in D-flat. Alternatively titled “Us is Too”, “U.S. is Two”, etc. to call attention to racial disparities in the United States. Served as Mingus’ theme music for a time in the ‘70s (a la Duke/Strayhorn’s “A Train”), particularly during a big band residency at the Village Vanguard while the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra was on a U.S. State Department tour of the Soviet Union. Recorded on Mingus And Friends In Concert, 1972, arranged by Sy Johnson.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting [Blues & Roots] — This tune sparked a trend of gospel-influenced uptempo 6/4 jazz tunes, along with its sequel, “Better Get Hit In Your Soul”.

Weird Nightmare [Single: Shuffle Bass Boogie/Wierd Nightmare, 1946, Excelsior Records, feat. Claude Trenier, vocal] — One of Mingus’ earliest ballads, featuring lyrics written by the composer. Recorded later as an instrumental under alternate titles: “Smooch” with Miles Davis (Blue Haze), “Vassarlean” by Mingus (Mingus, Candid, 1960), and “Pipe Dream” (Lady Will Carr with Baron Mingus & His Octet, 4-Star Records).

Work Song [Mingus at the Bohemia] — A slow, swinging, mournful blues piece inspired by the work song melodies sung by enslaved Africans and their descendants, most famously in prison labor camps in the American South. Mingus’ melody is conducted in a similar echoing, in-the-round/call-and-response manner, crescendoing as it builds up through the repeated 8-bar form.

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