Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus

In a way, speech does break out. "Original Faubus Fables," previously recorded as "Fables of Faubus" on Mingus Ah Um, gets the lyrics earlier denied it by Columbia Records. Mingus and drummer Dannie Richmond damn Arkansas's notoriously racist governor, with the bassist calling out, "Why is he so sick and ridiculous, Dannie?" Richmond and trumpeter Ted Curson are excellent players and the sheer tumult carries them to the performances of their careers. Mingus's writing often uses tension-building repeated figures, and Dolphy and Curson virtually function as reed and brass sections at times. It contributes to the illusion of a much larger group, a cauldron of unspoken pain and fresh energies that seems almost too much for any quartet to deliver.

A fifth performance from the session, an extended-band feature for Dolphy's alto on Fats Waller's "Stormy Weather," has never been included on a CD with the rest of the session. Well worth seeking out, it currently appears on Candid Dolphy. --Stuart Broomer