''Something Like a Bird'' is an album by

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

, released on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

label in 1981. The album reached a peak position of number 37 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Jazz Albums chart. Mingus is featured as composer and director but does not actually play on this album, as his

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

had progressed to the point that he was no longer able to do so. These were the last sessions of his own music he ever participated in, although he did attend one session for the partial collaboration with

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, Mingus before his death in January 1979.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review states: "It's not essential but certainly colorful.".

Track listing

# "Something Like a Bird Part 1" (Mingus) -19:12 # "Something Like a Bird Part 2" (Mingus) -12:14 # "Farewell, Farwell" (Mingus) - 5:57

References

1981 albums Atlantic Records albums Charles Mingus albums {{1980s-jazz-album-stub