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?
2. "I'll say Mingus Ah Um" In response to Reply # 0
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.
8. "Mingus Ah Um is probably THE Mingus album to get..." In response to Reply # 0
...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
9. "I've never heard a bad Mingus record" In response to Reply # 0
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.
. . .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?"
22. "RE: Jazz heads, I need your help on Charles Mingus." In response to Reply # 0
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).
29. "RE: i started with black saint and sinner lady and haven't even moved on..." In response to Reply # 28
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.
30. "RE: i started with black saint and sinner lady and haven't even moved on..." In response to Reply # 29
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.