Charles Mingus - Fables of Faubus

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader, composer and civil rights activist.

Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music.

Yet Mingus avoided categorization, forging his own brand of music that fused tradition with unique and unexplored realms of jazz.

In creating his bands, Mingus looked not only at the skills of the available musicians, but also their personalities. Many musicians passed through his bands and later went on to impressive careers. He recruited talented and sometimes little-known artists whom he assembled into unconventional and revealing configurations.

As a performer, he was a pioneer in double bass technique.

As respected as Mingus was for his musical talents, he was sometimes feared for his fearsome temperament, which earned him the nickname "The Angry Man of Jazz."

"Fables of Faubus" is one of Mingus' most explicitly political works, the song was written as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers.

The song was first recorded for Mingus' 1959 album, Mingus Ah Um. Columbia refused to allow the lyrics to the song to be included, and so the song was recorded as an instrumental on the album.
It was not until October 20, 1960 that the song was recorded with lyrics, for the
album Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, which was released on the more independent Candid label.