Mingus Ah Um (album) by Charles Mingus

From VictorVale 10/20/2019 16:30

Fantástico! Fronteira do Bop com Free Jazz!

To my untrained ear, most this album sounds like, for lack of a better word, "regular" jazz. I don't know much about jazz but it sounds much more pedestrian than what would come after it. I'm still somewhat new to the genre but I prefer the more inventive records. That being said, this album is perfectly fine to do just about anything to.

"Mingus Ah Um" is, in my opinion, the ideal album to discover the giant genius Charles Mingus. Those who do not like jazz should start with this album, it contains all the pleasant elements of jazz. This record dates from 1959, and yet, the quality of the recording is superb. This album is one of the best record for chill. Mingus touches everything: bop, free jazz, new orleans, while keeping his personality. The arrangements are grandiose, Ervin and Handy (sax) give me a huge slap, and the rhythm section composed of Dannie Richmond (d) and, of course, Charles Mingus (cb) is exceptional. One of the best jazz record of all times.

9/10

Best track: "Better Git It In Your Soul"

From JoaoMoreira 07/19/2018 14:01

Some hints of forwardness but mostly wallpaper jazz scales. Great musicians and great sound though.
An interesting but not brilliant album.

From thirstyDog 02/19/2018 01:26

It's obviously a great album, but I think he topped himself on Blues & Roots

From HoldenM 12/28/2017 19:10

Up there with Giant Steps and Kind of Blue as among my absolute favorite jazz records.

From JulianR 10/30/2017 19:58

A nice listen

From AfterHours 08/07/2017 23:23

An extraordinary work. Probably Mingus' 8th best album -- the idea of which sheds light on just how amazing he was (the greatest jazz artist of all time).

1. The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady
2. Let My Children Hear Music
3. Epitaph
4. Presents Charles Mingus
5. Tijuana Moods
6. Oh Yeah
7. Pithecanthropus Erectus
8. Mingus Ah Um

...and so on

The Jazz I prefer tends to be more like Black Saint and the Sinner Lady so I never gave this album the proper chance. Damn this is good, better than Black Saint and the Sinner Lady in my opinion. Makes me feel alive.

His greatest work. This album still has the same effect on me a dozen years since I first dug it. Bird Calls, an erratic, rough tune that jams off a flycatcher he must've heard somewhere in his wandering. A flycatcher! Who the hell would make a jam on the complaining trill of a flycatcher? Mingus could. He had the best band for its size. They were so tight together. Dannie Richmond kills me! And Portrait in 3 Colors still makes my heart melt. Even the outtakes added to later additions are amazing. This album is as sweet as KOB, smokes as hard as Miles Smiles, and has more lasting power than all my favorites. This is a great place to start digging Mingus, as his modality will catch on here, and the other more repetitive motifs will make sense later as your enthusiasm takes off. Mingus is like Monk in this way. Initial listens leave you wondering what the big deal is, and the hooks start to accumulate. Both had perfect meters, and the tightest rhythm sections, but Mingus had a fuller vision, and fuller sound.