Hora Decubitus ("At Bedtime") is basically a reworking of Charles Mingus' previous E's Flat Ah's Flat Too and can function as a basic primer on Mingus' music. The song features his driving bass lines, his carefully orchestrated, almost-Ellingtonesque compositions, and the freedom that he regularly gave his sidemen to improvise. My favorite passage is probably Eric Dolphy jumping in at the 2:08 mark.
But the essence of Mingus' best performances is how he regularly pushed the band outside of their comfort zone to make them jam that much harder, and then, just when it sounded like all hell was about to break loose, he gets them to all suddenly snap back into place. Listen to how Moanin', as posthumously recorded by the Mingus Big Band, contains alternating passages of tight ensemble playing and near anarchy.
But the essence of Mingus' best performances is how he regularly pushed the band outside of their comfort zone to make them jam that much harder, and then, just when it sounded like all hell was about to break loose, he gets them to all suddenly snap back into place. Listen to how Moanin', as posthumously recorded by the Mingus Big Band, contains alternating passages of tight ensemble playing and near anarchy.
That bad-ass baritone sax solo at the opening is by Ronnie Cuber.
No doubt, Mingus drove the band hard. Not to speak badly of the departed, but he was reportedly moody and temperamental, and regularly terrorized his band with his demanding intensity. We've hard stories that at least one sideman was so terrified of him, he would pack a handgun to practice sessions. Live, Mingus was probably the first musician to ever drop the mic on stage and the first to smash a piano with an axe live on stage because it sounded so bad. Once, in the middle of an interview in his home, he pulled out a shotgun, aimed it at the ceiling, and fired it indoors. Mingus was the OG. Here's a way-too-short clip from a live, late-70s performance that hints at his ferocity.
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