Charles Mingus was a composer whose music spoke volumes without words. It was a rare thing to hear lyrics along with his highly wrought and incredibly emotive compositions, though Mingus had the heart of a poet, as can be seen in his song titles alone. However, there were projects where Mingus added lyrics to his compositional voice, using either his poetry or that of others. On Ku-umba Frank Lacy and Mingus Big Band’s Mingus Sings, the tremendous repertory ensemble directed by Mingus’s widow, Sue Mingus, has recorded an album of pieces that put vocals front and center, led in part by the triumphant voice of Ku-umba Frank Lacy.

PERSONNEL:

FRANK LACY, vocals
JACK WALRATH,  trumpet
ALEX NORRIS,  trumpet
LEW SOLOFF,   trumpet
CRAIG HANDY, saxophones
WAYNE ESCOFFERY, saxophones
RONNIE CUBER,  saxophones
ALEX FOSTER, saxophones
ABRAHAM BURTON, saxophones
CONRAD HERWIG, trombone
COLIN ALLURED, trombone
EARL McINTYRE, trombone
HELEN SUNG, piano
DAVID KIKOSKI, piano
MIKE BLOCK, bass
BORIS KOZLOV, bass
DONALD EDWARDS, drums

TRACKS:

01. Consider Me
02. Dizzy Profile
03. Weird Nightmare
04. Portrait
05. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
06. Sweet Sucker Dance
07. Invisible Lady
08. Duke Ellingtons Sound of Love
09. Dry Cleaner from Des Moines
10. Noonlight
11. Chair in the Sky
12. Eclipse
13. Jelly Roll