It has been a few weeks since I returned home from Little Rock. The steady flow of raindrops pounds the windows surrounding my family room. Several albums from my dad’s record collection lay stacked on a wooden entertainment console. My eyes curiously focus on the album topping the stack with its cover exhibiting colorful abstract art. I lift and bring the album cover closer to view and discover the artist who painted the unique abstract art is S. Neil Fujita.

MINGUS AH UM/CHARLES MINGUS – the block letters spread across the top of the album cover. Neatly cropped under these letters are what I presume song titles – BETTER GIT IN YOUR SOUL / GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT / BOOGIE STOP SHUFFLE…PUSSY CAT DUES / JELLY ROLL. The song titles rotate from orange to purple font colors. “These are interesting titles,” the thought crosses my mind as I pull the vinyl record out the plastic sleeve. I step close to my vintage Dual turntable that my dad gave to me many years ago and place the record on the turntable platter. I slide the play knob to start, slowly turn and proceed to the brown suede sofa strategically nestled in my family room.

Off top, the welcoming sound of an upright bass flows out the speakers. Followed by a piano… followed by a horn…then hi-hats…OH, THE CELEBRATION BEGINS. I imagine my dad’s spirit grinning at me not expecting a homecoming of sorts. The groove of the opening song Better Git In Your Soul feels joyous and representative of the up-tempo syncopated music style of my dad’s birth state of Louisiana, particularly southern Louisiana. The song’s energy is captured with scattered gospel praises voiced in the background throughout the song. My ears constantly bounce from instrument-to-instrument playing off each other. As the song progresses, my ears eventually focus on the notes pulsating from the piano. I visualize the pianist rapidly tapping his fingers on the keys…moving his hands from left to right…right to left. So much dynamic energy throbs through the speakers. This Charles Mingus knows how to make a grand entrance…the song arrangement is impeccable…this is a great down-home song. These thoughts furiously speed through my mind as I take the music in.

Mellow horns blow bringing in the somber mood of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. I lean back and close my eyes. My psyche relaxes as the bass lays the foundation of the airiness of the melody. My mind eases as the beautiful melody plays on. About one minute in the saxophone takes control and delivers a burst of melancholy. With my eyes still closed, I let my spirit ride the waves of the melody. Every note resonates with sincerity and care as if a tribute to a moment, a person, a place.

Several minutes later, the opening of Fables of Faubus catches my attention. Being raised in Arkansas, I ponder if this song is about the racist former Arkansas Governor Faubus. The melody gives an impression of music played on the television show Get Smart, which I loyally watched reruns as a child. The playful melody portrays a perfect theme for a pompous individual who people do not truly respect. As the music plays, I constantly tap my right foot to the downbeat, but stop at the song’s midway point at what seems like a countdown of sorts. I internally contemplate if indeed what I am hearing represents a countdown and if so, what does the countdown signify? As my mind continues to contemplate, the pianist interrupts my train of thought with an incredible grand performance of a complicated piano chord progression.

As the songs play one after the other, I gain a great appreciation of the lush compositions and the flawless arrangements of Mingus Ah Um. “Man…Mingus is a genius,” I internally exclaim. Mingus and the band close things out with Jelly Roll that starts off with a swinging melody from the piano, drums, and trumpet. In my mind, the song perfectly caps off the emotional roller coaster of Mingus Ah Um. The melody presents the feeling of fun…dusting off your shoulders…shaking haters off. Or in one word – RESILIENCY. In the moment, I envision beautiful black couples back in the day dancing away in their finest threads and not giving a care in the world while this song played. What a lovely vision.

After further review…

Mingus Ah Um was released by Columbia Records in October 1959. The musicians who performed on the album were Charles Mingus (bass, piano), John Handy (clarinet, sax[alto], sax [tenor]), Booker Erwin (sax [tenor]), Horace Parlan (piano), Dannie Richmond (drums), Willie Dennis (trombone), Jimmy Knepper (trombone), and Shafi Hadi (sax [alto], sax [tenor]).

Over the years, Mingus Ah Um would receive global acclaim, which includes songs to this day that are performed by young band students to revered globally known musicians. On December 3, 2014, The Recording Academy announced Mingus Ah Um was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The Library of Congress announced the addition of Mingus Ah Um to the National Recording Registry, on March 19, 2004.

Upon Mingus Ah Um induction into the National Recording Registry, Author John F. Goodman wrote, “Mingus Ah Um captures the full flavor of the man better than most of any of his recordings.” Mr. Goodman also noted, “Mingus got word that Lester Young had died while the Mingus band was performing one evening at the Half Note in New York. John Handy reported that the leader then began to play a slow sad blues which not long after became the elegiac “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” that you hear on “Ah Um”. Handy’s moving solo reinforces the mood, and there has never been a finer jazz tribute to a fellow musician.”

After reading Mr. Goodman’s words, the composition of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat clarified my thoughts of the song related to the notes displaying sincerity and care. Truly, the song is a beautiful musical elegy that captures the mood of sorrow from losing someone close. I imagine Lester Young’s spirit tipped his pork pie hat in salute to the exquisite tribute bestowed on him. Undeniably, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat inspired many people, which many famous artists have covered this song, such as Jeff Beck and Joni Mitchell.

As for the Fables of Faubus, my research confirmed the song was composed in jest of former Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. Not included in the recorded original released song were controversial spoken exchanges between Mingus and Richmond about former Governor Faubus and other racial issues. In the liner notes for Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, Nat Hentoff quotes Mingus saying, “The other label would not allow him to record the talking sections, which he feels are an important part of the overall color and movement of the piece. A year after the release of Mingus Ah Um, Mingus was able to record “Fables of Faubus” as intended, which he included on the Charles Mingus Present Charles Mingus album released by Candid Records, although with a new song title “Original Faubus Fables.”