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BIG BAND SELECTIONS (with brief descriptions)
-Bright ballad, soprano sax solo
- Gospel 12/8 burner w/shouts & blues solos
- Sax section feature, real uptempo“It wasn’t supposed to sound like Charlie Parker. It was supposed to sound like birds– the first part.” - Mingus
- Medium tempo blues in C major
BOOGIE STOP SHUFFLE (Simply Mingus)
- Medium to uptempo classic, B flat blues
- Medium to uptempo classic, B flat blues
- Lyrics by Joni Mitchell
- through-composed, medium tempo classical jewel from “Epitaph”
- Medley of two ballads, one walking ballad, w/solos on both
- Spoken Word w/brass a capella turning into uptempo E flat modal solos
DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOUND OF LOVE (Simply Mingus)
- classic walking ballad, one of the most advanced
DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOUND OF LOVE
- classic walking ballad, one of the most advanced
- Bluesy multi-part, gospel-like, with a few tempo changes
- Uptempo E flat blues, brass intensive
FABLES OF FAUBUS (Simply Mingus)
- Classic, medium tempo with a lot of shifts & backgrounds
- Classic, medium tempo with a lot of shifts & backgrounds
- Uptempo w/ ¼ time ballad, has built-in drum solo
GOODBYE PORKPIE HAT (Simply Mingus)
- Classic, tenor & bass feature, ballad
- Classic, tenor & bass feature, ballad
- 6/8 burner w/drum solo at end“The subtitle was “If Charlie Parker was a gunslinger, there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats.” I was just feeling crazy and thought that if Bird was a gunslinger instead of a musician in those early days, there’d have been a lot of guys getting killed.” - Mingus
HAITIAN FIGHT SONG (Simply Mingus)
- Classic, bass feature, medium-uptempo, G minor blues
- Classic, bass feature, medium-uptempo, 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. They’re so subservient. I think they dig being like they are because I saw a sign in Phillipsburg that said: “We want a ghost leading us.” In Chicago they used to call the white guys “ghosts” and the black guys “spooks.”” - Mingus
- Ballad with lyrics
- Classic, 16 bar piece, progressing through styles from Dixieland to Bebop
- Modern, medium-uptempo with two solo forms on 2 different set of changes.“It was one of my first pedal point songs, or extended forms.” - Mingus
- Mingus Plays Piano
- Orchestra Version
- Classic, bari feature with 64 bar form
- Classic, bari feature with 64 bar form
-Discovered in the Mingus archives by musicologist and historian Andrew Homzy.
NOSTALGIA IN TIME SQUARE (Simply Mingus)
- Medium tempo, modified blues in E flat
- Medium tempo, modified blues in E flat
O.P. FOR OSCAR PETTIFORD (Simply Mingus)
- Uptempo w/odd number of bars & beats
OH LORD DON'T LET THEM DROP THAT BOMB ON ME - (no score)
- Swinging 12-bar blues in C
- Extended form featuring tenor uptempo & alto on a ballad
- Large form, dialogue solos
- Shuffle, B-flat blues
- Classic, medium-uptempo, AAB form
- Classic, F minor, open vamps for solos
- Lush ballad and swing, alto solo with saxophone section feature
SELF PORTRAIT IN THREE COLORS (Simply Mingus)
- Through-composed, polyphony
SLIPPERS (Simply Mingus)
- Uptempo, drum feature
- Medium shuffle in E flat
- Extended form, classical type piece
- Lyrics by Joni Mitchell
- High energy uptempo, 16 bar blues form"It’s a technically involved composition. I called it that because the guys were tense playing it.”" - Mingus
THIS SUBDUES MY PASSION - (no score)
- Ballad from Swing Era
- Latin infused, medium-uptempo with 17 bar form
- Medium-uptempo, long chorus piece in D flat
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER MEETING
- Gospel-like 6/8 uptempo with 12-bar blues form in F
- Medium tempo, soulful swinger w/8 bar dialogue solos, in F minor
- Latin infused, medium-uptempo, long form w/many open vamps“It was really conceived in Mexico in one of those night clubs where they have chicks that dance and take off their clothes. And the more you tip them, the more they take off. I was amazed. I also wrote my own version of “Flamingo” on the same trip. I wrote completely different changes in the key of E just to see what kind of guys would play it. But it’s completely different from what Duke did, other than the melody. “Los Mariachis” was another piece. They are the street musicians. They play completely different from the guys inside the clubs. More natural. They’re not affected. I don’t know if they make as much money. There’s seven or eight guys walking around, playing tunes in the street for people. I’ve always liked Mexican music and Spanish music because that’s jazz in a way– people’s music.” - Mingus Go back