Discography syntax

This document explains the syntax used in Charles Mingus discographies. Here's an example:

[Artist:] RECORD TITLE

(P) Year_Of_Publishing Recording_Company (Label Catalog_Number) [LP/Info]

1. Track 1 (Composer) (minutes:seconds), see track syntax
2. Track 2
3. Medley (Track 3)
   1. Track 1
   2. Track 2
4. Track 4
5. Track 5

Personnel

Player 1 (instrument abbreviation); Player 2 (ia); etc. See abbreviations.

Date and place

Month Date, Year, [Studio/Club], [City/Town], [Country if other than USA]

Total time

[hour]:minutes:seconds

Originally issued

[original and previous releases of this particular album or its individual tracks]

Comments

[comments about the recording]

Track syntax

The first number (or letter) followed by a point is the position of the track on the record. In some cases the first track won't be number one, e.g. on Miles Davis's Blue Haze (of course your browser must support this). Info entries (like early Mingus) are often unordered.

The second field contains the name of the composition plus additional information such as Take 1 or alternate name.

The third optional field contains the length of the track.

The fourth optional field contains the (sur)name of the composer unless the composition is by Mingus. The lyricist is omitted, if there are no lyrics present on the recording. If you want to know a lyricist for some Tin Pan Alley or musical tune, click here. Also, if the next track has the same composition, the name of the composer is omitted (although I may slip from this rule once in a while).

Abbreviations

aka

also known as

arr

arranger

as

alto sax

b

(acoustic) bass

bars

baritone sax

bcl

bass clarinet

btb

bass trombone

cl

clarinet

cond

conductor

d

drums

fl

flute

g

guitar

narr

narration

p

piano

perc

percussion

ss

soprano sax

tamb

tambourine

tb

trombone

tp

trumpet

ts

tenor sax

vib

vibes

voc

vocals, voice