Charles Mingus

• 20-PAGE BOOKLET EDITION

• INCLUDES 2 BONUS TRACKS

• 5 STARS DOWNBEAT

INCLUDES NEW SPECIALLY PREPARED LINER NOTES BY PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ'S WRITER BRIAN MORTON AND BY PARIS'S PRESTIGIOUS JAZZ MAGAZINE

“1959 was a near-miraculous year for jazz. It would be redundant to number all the classic albums made or released over that extraordinary twelve months, some of those records included in this Masterworks series, but Mingus Ah Um stands out strongly. Unlike some of the recordings that appeared that year, it is in no way “avant-garde”. On the contrary, it stands squarely in the great lineage of jazz, but not in a monumental way. It calls up the past in order to address a troubled present. And far from being a period piece, it has never seemed more relevant than now.” - PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ

“Recorded in May of 1959, Mingus Ah Um is one of the most successful LPs by the charismatic leader. On “Self-Portrait in Three Colors”, Mingus’ celebrated “workshop” effectively brings out all the nuances of his music thanks to arrangements of fluid beauty with moiré reflections. Recorded over 60 years ago at a New York studio under producer Teo Macero’s supervision, Mingus Ah Um gives ample proof that Mingus’ jazz conception escaped all codes and stereotypes, without losing its essential qualities of swing and melody.” - JAZZ MAGAZINE

PERSONNEL:

• Charles Mingus - bass & leader
• Jimmy Knepper or Willie Dennis - trombone
• Booker Ervin - tenor sax
• Curtis Porter (aka Shafi Hadi) - alto & tenor sax
• John Handy - alto & tenor sax, clarinet
• Horace Parlan - piano
• Dannie Richmond - drums

New York, May 5 & 12, 1959.

TRACKS:

• 01 BETTER GIT IT IN YOUR SOUL
• 02 GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT
• 03 BOOGIE STOP SHUFFLE
• 04 SELF-PORTRAIT IN THREE COLORS
• 05 OPEN LETTER TO DUKE
• 06 BIRD CALLS
• 07 FABLES OF FAUBUS
• 08 PUSSY CAT DUES
• 09 JELLY ROLL
• 10 MOANIN’ (*)
• 11 ORIGINAL FAUBUS FABLES (*)
• [FABLES OF FAUBUS second version]

• TOTAL TIME: 74:22 Min.
• (*) BONUS TRACKS