and found that Ellington was already there, writing out some material. Despite his suggestion the previous day, all of the compositions used were brought by Ellington. For each piece, according to Roach, he and Mingus were given "a lead sheet that just gave the basic melody and harmony", plus a visual image described by the pianist: one example was, "crawling around on the streets are serpents who have their heads up; these are agents and people who have exploited artists. Play that along with the music". The musicians had declined the chance to rehearse, so the recording, which was made on three-track tape, was of their first experience playing together. Money Jungle is a post-bop album. The original LP contained seven tracks – six composed by Ellington, and one, "Caravan" by Juan Tizol, strongly associated with him. The title track is a 12-bar blues that opens with strongly played notes from Mingus, then Ellington joins in with dissonant chords; Roach supports using ride cymbal, snare and bass drum. In the final minute, Down Beat magazine observed, Mingus bends the "strings with such force that he makes the instrument sound like a cross between a berimbau and a Delta blues guitar". "Fleurette Africaine" is a ballad developed from a simple melody stated on the piano, and features "Mingus's floating bassline and Roach's understated drumming". "Very Special" is another 12-bar blues, possibly improvised. These three compositions, plus "Wig Wise", with its "angular, descending line", were written specifically for this album. On "Caravan", Ellington plays the melody in low octaves, adding "Webern-like notes on the top", imitating an orchestral sound. "Warm Valley" and "Solitude" are ballads, the latter being a piano solo piece until Mingus and Roach enter in the final minute. The CD releases feature four more compositions: "Switch Blade", "Backward Country Boy Blues", "REM Blues", and "A Little Max (Parfait)". The last of these is a Latin-influenced track that features Roach. "Switch Blade" is "a slow blues that showcases Mingus's virtuosity with a looseness that puts feeling before precision. [...He] intersperses his basslines with countermelodies and answers to what Duke plays." According to drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, "Backward Country Boy Blues" was probably given its title because part of the usual blues construction is reversed – the V chord precedes the IV chord. There have been persistent rumors of clashes among the musicians during the session. Douglas's version is that Mingus