I'm getting more and more into jazz music and developing more favorite artists. I got broken in on Miles Davis and then moved on to John Coltrane (not to say that I don't check for Miles or Trane any more, but now I'm ready to expand).

Charles Mingus is the next dude on deck. I've heard some stuff of his and dude is INCREDIBLE. It's amazing to me that he's not more known on the level of Miles, Trane, Dizzy, Bird, Monk, or at least Sonny Rollins or Max Roach.

Anyway, I want to begin adding some of Mingus' music to my collection and I wanted to know what is the Charles Mingus' defining album? Like many claim that "Kind of Blue" was more or less, Miles Davis defining album and "Love Supreme" was Coltrane's defining album. What album is that must have album for Mingus?

Does any know/have an opinion?

But very different from Miles in terms of definitive album for an artist as you will find out when you hear it.
________
Big PEMFin H & z's
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"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am one thing, a musician." © Miles Davis

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

Although it probably depends on what you mean by "defining." The most popular answers are Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Mingus Dynasty, and Mingus Ah Um. Mingus himself really liked to push Let My Children Hear Music toward the end of his life.

I go with Mingus Ah Um because it gives you all of the trademark Mingus-isms (in melody, harmony, interplay, rhythm, and style) with some of the most recognizable Mingus tunes. It doesn't aspire to the grandness of programmatic scale of Black Saint of Let My Children, but it articulates its awesomeness over a set series of tunes. Hence, with you mentioning Kind of Blue off the bat, this is (to me) the parallel Mingus album.

I've always felt that Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (aka Five Mingus) is a really good gateway album for Mingus without watering down the artistry at all.

don't know if its his signature album

but

its certainly my favorite and the 1st record I heard by him

but "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" by him is THAT shit.


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If you're looking for live stuff of his

My favorite is Blues & Roots

The critical choice is always Black Saint & the Sinner Lady.


Of the three I'd say Blues & Roots is the one you'll find the most similarities to in the rest of the catalog.

Lots to check though:
If you like Ah Um and Blues & Roots
check out
Pithecanthropus Erectus
and
Oh Yeah

If you like Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
go with
Tijuana Moods
and
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion

To branch out
find the extended version of the Money Jungle album
Mingus at Antibes
and "The Quartet."

...if you've never heard any of his stuff.
If you like that, and you will, Black Saint And The Sinner Lady is a good place to go from there. I'm a big fan of East Coasting, the piano album. You know what? All of them.


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

I'm probably not as well versed as some here, but I think I've got Mingus x5, Ah Um, Black Saint, Tijuana Moods, Cumbia & Jazz, Blues & Roots, Dynasty....

anyway, he's got a reasonably consistent aesthetic, in my experience, so my advice is fire away & enjoy.

I've got a big chunk of his catalogue:

CDs:
http://i40.tinypic.com/29qfh4l.jpg

Vinyl:
http://i39.tinypic.com/vcx9h3.jpg

. . .and I have to say that there's not really a bad album in the bunch. He's not like the other jazz giants you mentioned (Trane and Miles), who both have periods in their respective catalogues that can be divisive among fans: With the late 60's/70's fusion and 80's stuff for Miles and the free stuff for Trane, these are both periods that a lot of people enjoy, but you will have a hard time finding people that are just as big of fans of Kind of Blue as they are of On the Corner or just as big of fans of Blue Train as they are of Interstellar Space.

Not the case with Mingus. He was so consistent that I would venture to say if you pick up one of his, say, Impulse albums and dig it, you'll dig everything, in varying degrees. Practically the only distinguishing trait for his music is the size of the band. The smaller group stuff tends to be a bit more adventurous, but the composition style is the same as when he worked with larger bands.

Personally, I prefer his 70's stuff, just on the basis of it being less familiar than his previous material. It was also in the 70's that he really started to focus on being a composer, so the music often takes on more of classical approach than ever before. But, through it all, there's always a very strong blues influence, so even though the songs are structured like a multi-movement orchestral piece, they're still played like a jammin' jazz group. If I had to pick one from this era, I'd say the Changes albums are my favorite.

Some notable Mingus contributions that you should be aware of:

Jazz at Massey Hall: http://amzn.to/IZAv61
Is one of the best jazz albums ever. The group is unbelievable.

Money Jungle: http://amzn.to/HE3foK
One of Duke's greatest performances and Mingus is just insane through the whole thing; you can tell he was showing off for his idol.

Hope this helps.

~Austin

"Where in the world is your inspiration to say the things you're aching to say?"

http://austintayeshus.blogspot.com

http://www.last.fm/user/Austintayeshus

http://twitter.com/Austintayeshus

saturday = record/vinyl fair

i was in the same boat months ago
Kind of Blue is my favorite of Davis'
i recommend Wayne Shorter after Mingus as well

speak no evil

</sarcasm>

~Austin

"Where in the world is your inspiration to say the things you're aching to say?"

http://austintayeshus.blogspot.com

http://www.last.fm/user/Austintayeshus

http://twitter.com/Austintayeshus

~Austin

"Where in the world is your inspiration to say the things you're aching to say?"

http://austintayeshus.blogspot.com

http://www.last.fm/user/Austintayeshus

http://twitter.com/Austintayeshus

Right now can pick up several of the classic Mingus albums on disc for relatively cheap:

Original album series overlapping with the Atlantic box set (the clown, pithecanthropus erectus, etc) as low as $18:
http://amzn.to/IzEjfH

Similar release of three albums, favoring Columbia releases (incl. Mingus Ah Um) as low as $11:
http://amzn.to/HP8Owg

One of the recent two-on-one Impulse releases that includes Black Saint and Mingus x 5 for as low as $7:
http://amzn.to/IMZHjm

Theoretically, for less than $50 can have a lot of the most significant music, packaging obviously isn't going to be ideal but a bargain quantity-wise; if he catches you it's not unlikely you'd want to keep hearing more. I find him among the most accessible due to being so arranged (the Impulse albums appear to extend this into the recording process to a greater extent).

you can't go wrong w/ the suggestions above

this song off this LP is what first got me open

I'll Remember April (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djm1LDol3ps

http://tinyurl.com/7jeaf7z
also off His album w/ Max Roach

direction into which I should go.

I really appreciate all who took time to contribute to my growth and development in this thing called "jazz".

it's way too good

yeah, Track A is so layered and dissonant and angry. i don't know what Mingus was feeling when he composed that, but that is a very richly beautiful piece of music.

I've heard from alot of older cats,including my Uncle and Pops mention that Mingus was just as talented, if not more talented of a composer and arranger as Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I never really took the time to dissect his music but I know he is a main cat.

On a sidenote: his daughter graduated with my parents from Compton High back in 68. Moms said she was an artsy-type boho chick.