Critical Listening #2 -- Moanin' by Charles Mingus

I'm more than a little late in posting this particular listening session -- my apologies!

For this in-depth listening session, I decided to go back to what inspired me to take this course in the first place. I suppose that I've always had a sort of implicit appreciation for jazz (though I probably wouldn't have admitted it), but it wasn't until a friend of mine from back home played some Charles Mingus for me over Thanksgiving break that I really started to get into it. I was transfixed by the talented bass lines and the complex layering of instruments in pieces like "Haitian Fight Song" and "Moanin'," so much so that I spent the next few days scouring Youtube and internet music players for more to hear.

Charles Mingus

Tonight, I'll be taking a look at "Moanin'," which is off of Mingus's Blues & Roots album, which was recorded in 1959 by Atlantic studios. This album is said to be a return to the early blues, gospel, and New Orleans jazz roots that we've been discussing in class; according to AllMusic.com, Mingus wrote and recorded this album in response to critics who said that his music didn't "swing" enough for their tastes. I don't know how true these observations were, but Blues & Roots certainly swings!

"Moanin'" opens up with a sultry 16-bar introductory segment by the baritone saxophone, which introduces the main riff that carries the A section and hints at the snappy, swinging tempo that drives the piece. Drums and the trombone, followed by the double bass and the tenor sax, each creep their way into the piece in 16-bar intervals and settle into supporting roles. Next come the piano and the alto sax, taking another 16 bars to establish themselves before the alto launches into a solo played atop the other instruments while the tenor sax plays a sort of counter-melody in what might be considered the A' part of the piece.

Somewhat abruptly, the listener is then dropped into a slightly more subdued, "classy"-sounding B segment of about twenty seconds. During this, the alto sax plays a few modest notes while the other instruments gradually build in intensity until releasing the tension in a flurry of descending notes. The piece then returns to the A section for another 16 bars, building the layers of instruments back up on top of the driving rhythm of bass and baritone saxophone. Next comes what I suppose might be considered the C section, comprised of solos from the alto and tenor saxes.

What happens after the tenor sax solo quite frankly blew my mind, the first time I heard it. The rhythm section drops out almost entirely, playing only a few sparse notes while a second alto saxaphone cuts through the silence with another solo for a full 32 bars. Then, as the alto sax continues its solo, the bass, drums, and piano return return with 8 bars of a different beat that's half the speed of the rest of the piece, though the frantic wandering of the bass's notes originally made me think that it was faster than it was. After this brief adventure, the original beat and rhythm return for another 16 bars as the sax finishes its solo, almost as if nothing happened.

Finally, Mingus brings us back to the A segment of the piece, again building up from the bass, drums and baritone all the way to the dueling of the alto and tenor saxophones. A return to the brief B section wraps up the piece nicely, ending with ringing notes from all the instruments.

Determining the form of the piece proved to be a bit of a challenge for me, with all of the intricate and unexpected turns that it takes. With that in mind, I believe it can best be described as A-A'-B-A-C-D-C-A-A'-B. Whew!