The Clown
by Charles Mingus

The Clown by Charles Mingus
Year: 1957
Overall rank: 2,289th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 140 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1957 (13th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1950s (66th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,289th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Charles Mingus The Clown (Vinyl) 12" Album (UK IMPORT)
Condition: New


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CHARLES MINGUS JAZZ WORKSHOP The Clown 2LP 45RPM New Vinyl LP
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Charles Mingus - The Clown [New Vinyl LP] Gatefold LP Jacket, 180 Gram
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Charles Mingus bestography

The Clown is ranked 7th best out of 54 albums by Charles Mingus on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Charles Mingus is The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady which is ranked number 91 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,834.

Charles Mingus album bestography « Higher ranked (2,210th)
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
This album (2,289th)
The Clown
Lower ranked (3,124th) »
Tijuana Moods

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Apr
18
Sat
State of the Race/ DABO "An Evening of R & B"
Music Hall Center, Detroit, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
04
Sat
Old 97's
9:30 CLUB, Washington, United States. United States
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Apr
15
Wed
Tigers Jaw
Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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The Clown track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Clown rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,289th | 1950s rank: 66th | 1957 rank: 13th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 HeliosTop 20 Music Albums of 195715/202
2026Exist-en-cielTop 45 Music Albums of 19573/455
2026 baystateoftheartTop 20 Music Albums of 19572/205
2026matterhornriderTop 15 Music Albums of 195712/151
2026 AAL2014Top 64 Music Albums of the 1950s4/6419
2026bonnequestionBest Instrumental or Jazz Albums71/100 -
2026javicho07Top 14 Music Albums of 19573/144
2026 bertranduTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s9/10018
2026bonnequestionBest Ever Albums - 1 per Year67/68 -
2026javicho07Top 61 Music Albums of the 1950s20/6114
2026downandoutTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s50/10010
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s23/10016
2026bonnequestionBest albums from '55 to '649/39 -
2026 Patman360Top 32 Music Albums of 195719/322
2025replacementlevelTop 30 Music Albums of 195713/303
2025 flamingyesdeptTop 80 Music Albums of the 1950s41/8010
2025PapaShiz86Top 20 Music Albums of 195711/203
2025blueandthemoonTop 27 Music Albums of the 1950s8/2715
2025 LeonardTop 69 Music Albums of 195713/694
2025 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s76/1005
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 127
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 703
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Clown collection

The Clown ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 140 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 140 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
01/26/2026 19:59 BurndenAce  Ratings distribution  1,13176/100
 
80/100
 
12/21/2025 17:42 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,79670/100
 
80/100
 
12/11/2025 11:15 Hayden  Ratings distribution  7,52872/100
 
60/100
 
11/01/2025 11:19 TonySayers61  Ratings distribution  23,84864/100
 
75/100
 
10/26/2025 00:19 xhitmanx  Ratings distribution  1,37784/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.6/100, a mean average of 77.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.

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The Clown comments

Showing all 4 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
90/100
From 09/12/2024 06:56 | #305253
This version suffers from the lack of the last two tracks, which were omitted for a stupid reason (because people said Mingus couldnt swing). Together at Noon was easily one of the most badass jazz tracks ever.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/22/2020 09:44 | #259560
Decent. Not up to par witg Mingus Ah Um but good enough to grant at least 1 or 2 full listens. Maybe skip the dialogue at the end the 2nd time around.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/15/2019 15:21 | #241200
Really good album, one of Mingus' better ones. Haitian Fight Song is the best song on the album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/27/2016 07:25 | #175878
Solid Mingus set with the highlight being the bizarre and ultimately depressing narrated title track. A cynical look into the underbelly of late 50's society or a bitter metaphor for his own experience?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1957
1. Here's Little Richard by Little Richard
2. Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk
3. The "Chirping" Crickets by The Crickets
4. Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins
5. Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis
6. 'Round About Midnight by Miles Davis
7. With His Hot And Blue Guitar by Johnny Cash
8. After School Session by Chuck Berry
9. Ray Charles by Ray Charles
10. Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet
11. Monk's Music by Thelonious Monk Septet
12. Miles Ahead by Miles Davis + 19
13. The Clown by Charles Mingus
14. Dance Album by Carl Perkins
15. After Midnight by Nat King Cole
16. Singin' The Blues by B.B. King
17. Way Out West by Sonny Rollins
18. Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps by Gene Vincent
19. Singin' To My Baby by Eddie Cochran With The Johnny Mann Orchestra And Chorus
20. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald
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