Baby's got back! Bassist Charles Mingus was one of the most inventive arrangers to come out of the hard bop movement in the 50's and early 60's. He was also one hell of a bassist that garnered the attention of fellow jazz greats such as Max Roach, Eric Dolphy and Duke Ellington. In short, Mingus was one of the giants of the jazz world for about 20 years until his death of Lou Gherig's disease. He was also known for his extreme mood swings, violent outbursts and struggles with depression. Each of which translated to an uneven output.Today we feature an original composition by Mr. Mingus, as it appeared on his 1963 album for Impulse Records, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus. The song is II B.S. and it is one hard-driving, bass-centric song, I'm sure you'll agree. Starting with a gentle bass introduction, and a far off percussion piece of ambience, the pace is quickly changed by one of the all-time great bass riffs ever recorded. Trumpets, trombones and a Tuba begin building over each other in big band layers. Faster, harder, more textured with each turn. Then around 1:27 we break into a hard-charging saxophone bop lead by Mr. Charlie Mariano followed by a beautifully punctuated piano lead. And back again we go, starting with a slight variation on that bass lead until drummer Dannie Richmond breaks it all down to finish the song.
Enjoy.
