Intro text
After John Coltrane, Charles Mingus was my next great jazz love. The first Mingus recording that blew me away was the album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Bass player and band leader, Mingus had a take on jazz that was utterly unique, fusing jazz with gospel and blues influences, and even incorporating some hints of modernist classical music and New Orleans jazz parades. His music is both fascinating and compelling.
Playlist 1
Highlights the best of his recordings from the 1950s.
Playlist 2
Contains some of the best of his many excellent recordings from the 1960s.
Playlist 3
Presents The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady album in its entirety.
Playlist Notes:
I had to make some substitutions when it came to recreating my personal playlist in Spotify, both on playlist 2.
- I have a CD entitled In a Soulful Mood that seems like some cheap off-label cobbled-together product, but is actually quite good. it was from that CD that I took the track “Reincarnation of a Love Bird,” in a version recorded 1960/10/20. I couldn’t find it on Spotify, so I substituted an earlier version of the song.
- I concluded my playlist with “Meditations on Integration (Parts I&II)” from the album Mingus at Monterrey. Unable to find the album on Spotify, I substituted “Meditations (On a Pair of Wire Cutters)” from Right Now, another of my favorite Mingus albums. Different performance, slightly different title, but still the same terrific song.
Cover Art Citation:
- The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: Source, Discogs.com
Recent Comments