About

Mingus is the tenth studio album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released on June 13, 1979, and was her last studio album for Asylum Records. The album is a collaboration between Mitchell and Charles Mingus. It was recorded in the months before and after Mingus' death in January 1979 and is wholly dedicated to him. The album is one of Mitchell's most experimental and jazz-centric works. Mingus originally wrote six compositions ("Joni I-VI") for Mitchell to write lyrics for, and three of these were included on the album. Two other tracks written exclusively by Mitchell are included, alongside a new version of Mingus' standard "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", featuring lyrics written by Mitchell. In addition to these, five spoken word tracks (denoted as "raps") are dispersed throughout the album.

Mitchell is backed on the album by Jaco Pastorius (who had also contributed to Mitchell's two previous albums) on fretless bass, Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Peter Erskine on drums and Don Alias on percussion. Mingus received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 17 in the US. "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" was released as a single to promote the album, but did not chart. Mitchell would tour to promote the album through 1979–80; performances from these concerts would be documented on the live album Shadows and Light (1980).

This release coincides with Joni Mitchell’s 1976-80 era which has been remastered extensively for a new box set, in vinyl, CD, and digital editions. The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) compiles Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, Mingus, and the live album Shadows and Light, and comes with liner notes from none other than Meryl Streep, who paid tribute to the singer-songwriter as part of a MusiCares’ Person of the Year tribute in 2022. Below, listen to “Coyote (2024 Remaster),” from the Hejira redux, and check out the box set’s cover art, excerpted from one of Mitchell’s paintings.

In the liner notes, Streep writes, “It’s not just the artifact—music and lyrics—that Joni gives us. Her artistry leaves us, ourselves, changed. She has shifted things around inside us. And that’s how artists change the world.” Audio engineer Bernie Grundman remastered the albums from the flat analog masters, with press release notes.


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Label: Asylum Records 
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Remastered, 180g, Gatefold
Country: UK, Europe & US
Released: 2024 / Original Release: 1979
Genre: Jazz
Style: Contemporary Jazz

File under: Jazz Vocals
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