Mingus Ah Um

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Cat No: 170044

Release Date: 12 November 2021

Label: 20th Century Masterworks

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 8436563183980

Genres: Jazz

Release Date: 01 November 2019

Label: American Jazz Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 8436559467353

Genres: Jazz

Description
Deluxe digipak presentation with comprehensive 20-page booklet+ 2 bonus tracks. Includes new specially prepared liner notes by Penguin Guide to Jazz writer Brian Morton and by Paris' 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

Description
Charles Mingus Ah Um - The complete LP + 4 bonus tracks - Collector's digipak series with comprehensive booklet.

By the mid-50s, Charles Mingus had formed his own publishing and recording companies to protect and document his growing repertoire of original music. He also founded the "Jazz Workshop," a group which enabled young composers to have their new works performed in concert and on recordings. One of those albums was Mingus Ah Um (Columbia CS-8171), presented here in its entirety along with all of the other tunes from the sessions and an alternate take of "Bird Calls." An extremely personal work, Mingus Ah Um once again showcased Mingus' unique talent for breaking new ground. It features an all-star group including Jimmy Knepper, John Handy, Booker Ervin and Curtis Porter, and marked Mingus' first LP for Columbia.

Down Beat: "First let's put your minds at ease about that weird title: it's a corruption of an imaginary Latin declension (mingus-minga-mingum). Don't ask why. It seems to me that Mingus has now completely found himself, found a personal and vital direction. This is a consistently exciting and stimulating set." (Leonard Feather).

Charles Mingus - bass & leader; Jimmy Knepper or Willie Dennis - trombone; Booker ERvin - tenor sax; Curtis Porter - alto & tenor sax; John Handy - alto & tenor sax, clarinet; Horace Parlan - piano; Dannie Richmond - drums

Columbia session, New York 1959
Tracklisting
Tracklisting