Pre-Bird

{{Infobox album

| name = Pre-Bird

| type = Album

| artist = Charles Mingus

| cover = Mingus-pre-bird-small.jpg

| alt =

| released = September 1961

| recorded = May 24–25, 1960

| venue =

| studio = Plaza Sound Studios, NY

| genre = Jazz

| length = 35:20

| label = Mercury (1961)
Limelight (1965, as Mingus Revisited)

| producer = Leonard Feather

| prev_title = Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus

| prev_year = 1960

| next_title = Mingus

| next_year = 1961

}}

{{Album reviews

|rev1 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Richard |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |title-link=The Penguin Guide to Jazz |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |edition=9th |page=1002 |authorlink1=Richard Cook (journalist) |authorlink2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer)}}

| rev2 = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| rev2Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{Cite book

|editor-last=Swenson

|editor-first=John

| year = 1985

| title = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| title-link = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| publisher = Random House/Rolling Stone

| location = USA

| isbn = 0-394-72643-X

| pages = 140

}}

Pre-Bird (later re-released as Mingus Revisited) is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title Pre-Bird. It was released on Mercury Records in September 1961.{{Cite news |date=11 Sep 1961 |title=New LP Releases |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iAEAAAAMBAJ&q=mingus+60627&pg=PA18 |access-date=15 August 2019 |work=Billboard Music Week |publisher=The Billboard Publishing Co. |page=18}}{{cite news |title=September Album Releases |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1961/CB-1961-09-16-OCR-Page-0022.pdf |access-date=15 August 2019 |work=Cash Box |publisher=The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY |date=16 Sep 1961}}

Recording

The album was recorded over May 24-25 1960 at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City. Tracks 4, 7, and 8 were recorded on the 24th, with tracks 1-3, 5, and 6 recorded the following day. {{Cite web |date=2021-02-23 |title=Pre-Bird |url=https://musicbrainz.org/release/445f7ec2-a2d2-4194-bc0a-980459934cf3 |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=MusicBrainz}}

The album includes two tracks which feature contrapuntal arrangements of swing era pieces, aided by stereo mixing. In the first, "Take the "A" Train" is played in the left channel, paired with "Exactly Like You" in the right channel. The same is done with "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart".