A head’s up from a 2015 story by Stephan Wyatt in Houston Press twigged me to some of what was behind Charles Mingus’ tune on the album Mingus Ah Um.
The tune hinges (besides the great jazz playing of the quartet) on the words “fable” and “Fautus.”
The public (other than those who were aware of the Little Rock crisis) didn’t get a clear signal of the tune’s origins until it was recorded again later on the album Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus.
I’ll leave it to you the listener to make the comparison of the two tunes, first the first, and second the second.
Jazz is so much, including a window into our checkered past, in this instance, a governor standing in the way of fellow citizens getting the same access to resources as other citizens in a more privileged position.
While the first rendition is more “recordable,” the second is so much more from the gut, so much more visceral, a chance for a jazz outfit to let ‘er rip.
Name me someone who’s ridiculous, Dannie.
Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won’t permit integrated schools.
There's more than one way to real 