The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

Mingus? Dingus more like. This made my day worse.

I can’t claim to know much about jazz at all. Especially not avant-garde, experimental jazz like this. But I loved this album so much. It’s an album where you just give yourself over to the way the music feels. It teases you with a reprise that you think you’re familiar with, then beats you round the head with a horn section for getting too comfortable. It has moments of delicacy and beauty, and of utter stormy cacophonous noise. Putting aside the stories about Mingus (aggressive, violent bugger, essentially) it feels like these people are all playing for their lives. Quite a thing to behold

It’s good to check in on your preferences once in a while in case your tastes change, sometimes you’ll find you love something you didn’t before, or at least you appreciate it more! In this case, I’m here to report that I still hate jazz.

I can't. I feel like there's some 'emperor's new clothes' thing going on with jazz like this. Like, don't they see he's wearing nothing?! I keep waiting for that eureka moment when I might understand it a little, but it has yet to come. The noise almost hurts my brain, it's overbearing, dissonant, disturbing. Maybe that's the point. I don't get it.

Personally, this is a top 3 jazz album OF ALL TIME. It's dark, unsettling, both fitting of the past and the future. Mingus had been no stranger to aggressive or dark music prior, but goddamn this record takes it to a new level. Required listening for any self-proclaimed fan of jazz. Cannot praise enough.

i don't have to say anything about this album. jesus christ what a masterpiece. i give a lot of albums 5s, because i fucking love music, but this is a 6. it's a 10. it's a 100. goddamn.

This touched my thought while my world's affluence crumbled at his feet.

dirty sexy rollercoaster

Track A was such a dirty, dark track. I feel like it's telling the story of the sinner lady working as a sex worker. She finishes up with her client and heads to a bar. Track B feels like the black saint and the sinner lady meeting at the bar for the first time and there is this kind of balancing act of hitting it off but also there is some friction between them due to the sinner lady being a sex worker. It still kind of has this like dirty grimy feel to it with some like happy and sexy moments in there. Track C almost feels like regret. Maybe the black saint is feeling regret from what happened the night before. The black saint starts to do mental gymnastics because he enjoyed the night but also does not approve of the sinner lady. Most of this song is him dealing with this cognitive dissonance. Mode D feels like the black saint decided he couldn't deal with the fact that the sinner lady is a sinner. He decides to ignore the sinner lady and never talk to her again. This obviously is a difficult decision for her and you can hear some mental turmoil throughout the song as he's dealing with this. This goes on for a while. He's dealing with this pain the rest of his life. I don't know if I've ever heard and album tell a story this well before. This might not be the story that was intended but it's what I heard. The instruments are acting both as the conversation between the characters and also as the background music and it does such a good job portraying the emotions felt.

This is what ADHD sounds like when you like jazz.

This is like as archetypal as experimental jazz gets. Wildly changing time signatures, multiple keys soloing at the same time, crazy studio editing tricks to make it sound even more cacophonous (that flamenco guitar section though). This is one of those records that sounds like it could soundtrack On The Road or something. One of Mingus’ best. Favorite Track: Track-C Group Dancers “(Soul Fusion) Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries” Least Favorite Track: Track-A Solo Dancers "Stop! Look! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!" (If I had to pick one)

A wonderful artistic expression. It takes you away from any thought or emotion and shows you whatever you need to feel within that small musically accompanied moment. It's absolutely incredible

Please...please...no more twenty-minute jazz songs. Please.

This is heavy music--there's a lot going on here, and I don't think this is a jazz album to drop in the middle of a broader range of styles and say, "Here, this one is one of the best." It may be, but it's for hardcore jazzheads. I think "Mingus Ah Um" or "Mingus Plays Piano" is better for the general listener to get familiar with Mingus. This would be better suited for "1001 Jazz Albums To Hear Before You Die." Great album? Probably. Over my head? Definitely. 3/5, just because our esteemed editors haven't read the room. Including this album is just pretentious or lazy; not sure which.

Very cool and very interesting organized chaos. I’m relatively familiar with other works by the angry man of jazz, but I had never actually heard this album before. The mixing and organization behind every piece on the album (especially from a pre-stereo view when the album was made) is incredible and shows that deep thought was given to the somewhat avat garde compositions. Also, the shear amount of different instruments on this album is also impressive-it feels like I’m hearing a different horn or woodwind every second-with the Piano always acting as a sort of anchor. And then a guitar shows up out of nowhere! What the fuck! Side 2 of the record (song 4) is easily the blending off all things good and unique. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you like big band, jazz, or classical music I’d def give this one a listen.

Killer album. I love the low end, Bass, Tuba, Bari Sax. Just the wide variety of instruments all coming together for such a beautiful piece.

One second you’re enjoying a sophisticated manhattan whilst chatting up someone at the bar. The next, running from the mob through back alleys in a foreign country. Romanic, chaotic and so much tension

JAZZ!

Not bad, but I found it hard to shake the feeling that I was listening to a better-than-average soundtrack to a half forgotten film noir. Great arrangement for a big band, but really only soundtrack music.

To anyone that says, "I don't like jazz", I'd say, "You aren't listening to the right jazz for you then." Jazz is like a therapist -very personal and you may have to try a lot of it before you find the right jazz for you :) <> People on tv who liked jazz were portrayed as pretentious and the jazz they played in movies for those people was like listening to "Free Bird"'s guitar solo on repeat a bajillion times aka not for me AND THEN, Rachael played me a song or two on a most unforgettable road trip. It was big band music and it was stuff I had heard without knowing it (Thanks, Tom & Jerry). I immediately bought the Ken Burns Jazz 5-cd set and wore it out. <> Mingus looks like Bunk from The Wire - who wouldn't like that? ;-) <> Listening to this album, the 40 min flew by so I'd say I liked it as I search for Ken Burns collection on spotify...

I am not @ good judge of jazz or a jazz man at all. Not like I hated it, but wouldn't listen again

This brings to mind a remark - maybe from Kevin Shields? - that psychedelia should work on the body as well as the mind, and I follow the song titles as choreographer directions, track one for a single dancer, track 2 for two, so on, though I stumble when I try to match these descriptions with what the musicians are doing. It was incontrovertibly clear to them: even when the music’s bursting at the seams, it’s in formation. The saunters and gallops are tremendous, with louche preambles suggesting they’re ultimately fornicating to pieces, which is pleasing. Also brought to mind are comminplace filmic comparisons, tolerated 30 years later by Portishead - soundtracks for unmade films. Tracks lack the repetition of and return to motif of song, closer to sound-image making, the wilder parts anticipating Morricone’s freakiest tracks. The stealth-surrealists at the Walt Disney Corporation could have illustrated this with a film that would’ve gone down equally well in vernissages and smut theatres. A friend’s eldest child is called Mingus. They’re both very cool.

Yo this jazz is HOT Big textures Bold horns Dark club sandwiched with Spanish guitar It works HOT

So many things come to mind when hearing this album. It sounds like a party gone mad. It sounds like the music is ready to fall apart at any moment but somehow still holds together. It sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some bawdy film noir. Then throughout there's moments of utter peace and beauty. I would say there isn't a jazz album like it but that's too obvious. Is it even a jazz album? There's the problem with labels. It has to be categorized somehow so that it can be placed in the appropriate section in the record bins. Very few jazz albums also feature both a Tuba and a Classical Guitar (that would be bonus points if it already didn't deserve its 5 stars but the music already accomplished that) This review could go on for a while if I went into everything that went through my mind when listening to it instead of just touching on the broad ideas in the first paragraph. It's been a few years since I put this on and I had to listen to it twice and want to put it on yet again. Thank you Mingus!

It's been a while since I binge-listened to most of the Mingus discography. I'd forgotten just how good this masterpiece is. It takes the legacies of blues and swing, distils it into wild avant-garde big band jazz, and triple-filters the liquor through classical, folk dance and Spanish guitar. It's a mind-melting achievement, which sounds incredibly fresh and urgent and unique, even after decades of being a widely celebrated record. I love how the ferocious energy bubbles up into different sounds, then a lid goes on temporarily. The ups and downs give it a narrative structure - not that it tells me a story, but that you feel it taking the shape of a progressing narrative. But honestly, I'm making it sound academic and boring, when it is actually an energising rollercoaster. 5*

For me, this is the absolute pinnacle of Third Stream, and Mingus’s greatest masterwork.

The perfect balance between melody and noise. 7/10 FT: Track C

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady This didn’t quite grab me in the way that other recent jazz albums have, neither quite having the smoky flavour of Charlie Parker or eccentricity and shifting soundscapes of Miles Davis, and in places it feels like an overly clarinet-ty Pink Panther-esque, 50s Disney film soundtrack. There are some excellent passages though, the twinkly piano and sinuous horns at the start of Track B before it all gets a bit Minnie the Moocher/Trio advert, and the Spanish guitars leading into a moody cacophony on Track C is great, and I can appreciate the technical skill across it all, the piano in particular. But overall this didn’t speak to me the way Kind of Blue or Bitches Brew or even Hot Rats did. Despite some great moments, and apart from Track C it felt to me like it had a slightly sludgy, treacly feel to it, like wading through jazz soup with heavy legs. Even though there are a lot of changes in tempo it doesn’t, for me, quite have the fleet footed kineticism of some of the other jazz albums I’ve really liked, lacking a bit of groove and swing. Tough one to rate, it’s between 2 and 3, but I’ll go 3 as I think I will give it another try in future and there are some excellent moments and Track C is great. ✝️✝️✝️ Playlist submission: Track C - Group Dancers

I really tried to find the artistic side of this album and see a way to enjoy it, but with all the respect in my heart this just felt like a pure cacophony of noise lol. It definitely feels like the soundtrack for any manic pixie dream girl of the late 50’s early 60’s. Mad respect to Mingus but just not my style.

Sounds like you give a preschool class some wind instruments and drums and press record. Just can't get into that stuff.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is an album that truly reveals itself once you understand the turning point jazz was approaching in the early 1960s. Mingus stands here with one foot still rooted in orchestrated, harmonically structured jazz, and the other stepping firmly toward a more modular, collective way of thinking, where music is built from motion, tension, and real-time interaction rather than predetermined chord progressions. The core of the album isn’t individual solos but its overarching dramaturgy. The suite unfolds as a series of interconnected movements, where recurring motifs, rhythmic surges, and emotional releases create an almost balletic narrative. This is not background jazz. It is physical and psychological music, where movement and feeling are as essential as harmony. Mingus’s compositional language is both disciplined and volatile. Spanish and flamenco influences, blues, modern jazz, and moments that verge on free jazz coexist without the album ever losing coherence. The modular structure makes this possible: the music is no longer bound to constant chord changes, allowing energy to shift fluidly from theme to theme and from player to player. The nine-piece ensemble functions like a living organism. The traditional role of a conductor is effectively absent; direction emerges through listening, reacting, and collectively pushing the music forward. Mingus remains a powerful compositional force, but the album breathes through group interaction rather than top-down control. What makes The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady especially compelling is how personal it feels. This is not merely a formal experiment but an internal struggle rendered in sound. It is restless, dramatic, and at times unsettling, yet deeply rewarding. Heard in the context of jazz’s broader evolution, the album clarifies why Mingus was not just a composer or a bassist, but the embodiment of a musical philosophy. This is a record that resists instant comprehension, but one that gives more with every return, as the listener’s ears and understanding continue to evolve.

Never thought I would rate a jazz album 5 stars. Extra star for the cover!

This was recorded in one day, these cats were on top of their game. I've been a fan of Mingus for a while. When a much younger me was a bass player I always paid more attention when the bassist had a prominent role in writing. This really is a masterpiece. 5 stars all day.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a steamroller of a record, a steamy soundtrack to some sort of excessive yet controlled bash, a cosmopolitan assembly, a rooftop brawl. A fearsome lot is going on this album, but the main point is understood: the center couldn't hold, but the collapse has a beauty, a logic of its own. Mingus put together one of the greatest albums of all time w/ this four-piece masterpiece, and I do not tire of listening to it. Strangely too, it fits more moods than you'd initially think: there's quiet in it, there's stillness, there's a supported contemplativeness, particularly at the outset of the third movement. The ever-fertile touch is Jay Berliner's Spanish guitar work. America's composer after Duke and Monk is Mingus.

maravilloso maravilloso maravilloso

Man, I fucking love this music. It's my favorite type of jazz. Track B was the jam. I will be listening to more of this gentleman. This is a 5 from me.

Brilliant. One of the best Jazz albums.

Was already familiar with this album. One of my favorite jazz albums. And was the perfect choice for this gloomy summer day in SF. 5/5

Epic

There were some lulls, but, I feel like I went on a journey that I really couldn't resist. This is a jazz album I'd share with anyone looking to learn more about jazz.

I'm sorry Charles Mingus, I wasn't familiar with your game.

Ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived. I've been a Mingus Head for a while, though I hadn't heard this one. I've heard others, like Pithencanthropus Erectus and Blues and Roots. I've known this to be his big masterpiece, and I've been looking forward to hearing it. Boy, does it deliver. Just four tracks, but each incorporates so many facets of jazz and spans so many genres and subgenres with ease. I love these tracks often start out unassuming, or in a style of refined jazz that might seem safe, and then they just explode with life. Instruments are made to moan and scream, it's jarring. There's so much going on that obviously I can't process everything on one listen, but it's just so great that I know there will be many more listens to come. Immediately entering my handful of top jazz albums though, what a behemoth. Mingus is the man. Favorite tracks: All of 'em, though one highlight that sticks out is the flamenco-style guitar near the beginning of the last track, so beautiful. Album art: Pretty unassuming. The text and style is very bold, but to be comfortable with a cover this simple I'm interpreting to mean Mingus knew he cooked up something otherworldly, and he wanted to catch listeners off-guard. It worked. 5/5

I really loved this. It had elements of minimalism, with long sustained ostinatos, almost droning. The tempo and meter shifts were surprising. For a jazz album, there weren't as many solos as I would expect, but they were interesting.

A great expression of free jazz, the emotion and passion that Mingus gets into his albums is almost unrivaled to me.

v nice jazz

An amazing album of pure jazz enthusiasts who appreciate his artistry. One of the best, with Miles and T. Monk. Enjoy!

Typically when considering the greatest jazz albums of all time, the list is topped by Miles' Kind of Blue and Coltrane's A Love Supreme, while The Black Saint And The Sinner is usually positioned somewhere in the second tier. Black Saint is an excellent expresssion of Mingus' genius, though personally I think there are a few of his other albums that are a bit more accessible (Mingus Ah Um, Tijuana Moods).

Is this good jazz or bad jazz? It's so hard to tell sometimes. Plus this album toes the line by being pretty energetic and boisterous. Overall, I liked it though. So I'm going to say it's good jazz.

Really fun concept album, it was a little hard to get into until track B, but I would probably listen again. Like “Sketches of Spain” Mingus demonstrates talent but it’s not exactly catchy.

A little turned off by the farting noise in my right ear for the first minute or so but then things got nicely layered before breaking into a discordant mess then lurching into a groove where the bass really shines. It feels as if the instruments are competing against each other rather than working together. Interesting approach. Track B is more appealing--slow, languid with bursts of what sounds like something trying to catch up then coming together into a ferocious race. The rest of the album is a compelling listen--this is not jazz to play in the background while you have a cocktail and chat with your neighbor. This is jazz to play when you want everyone to leave so you can lie down and think about how much you hate them. Also, did someone say God Dammit on the last track?

these cats did in fact cook

Jazz piano has my heart

I'm an absolutely massive swing-era jazz fan --I love swing dancing-- but as jazz moved away from the swing era to bebop, modal, and other genres I kinda lose interest since it just isn't for me. Nonetheless, I found this album did work for me, even if it's a bit more experimental, although I don't see myself returning to it any time soon. Solid jazz played by solid musicians.

I like jazz music, but for no good reason, I don't listen to it so frequently. This album is a good remember that I need to listen to it more and more. An excellent album for all days.

Amazing. His 'Blues & Roots' is my favourite jazz record of all time, but this is up there.

Not bad not bad I usually listen to these when working so some good ole instrumental jazz is pretty nice and was indeed very productive while listening to this one I wouldn’t say it left a huge impact on me, and I don’t think I’d listen to any of these songs individually, but not a whole lot to complain about here. Would probably have it as a 7/10 but I’ll keep it as a (high) 3.

It's funny, while listening to this album, all I could think about was how familiar it felt. It was only until the next day that I remembered that I had to give a presentation on this era of jazz and had listened to this album like three years ago. The unfortunate part, is when listening to some of these albums, all I can think of is that music appreciation class. While jazz has grown on me during this project, I still have a hard time listening to music without words. It’s like watching a black and white movie to me like it’s just missing something and in this case that is the instrument and poetry of the voice. Is this good? Absolutely. This is mixed really well, with lots of instrument variety and different song segments and improvisation that show off different musicians who played on this record. In terms of jazz this is as good as it gets. However, me personally, I'm not gonna jump to put this on in the car ride to work or to dance to or anything. It’s a little shocking how fast the tracks go by considering how long they are. I don’t ever feel the album dragging. Its a genuinely good album but jazz is still not my genre of choice 3/5. Did I need to hear this before I die? Nah, but I’m sure some did

Not sure I’ve ever heard of Charles Mingus and definitely never heard of this album, but for a ~40-minute-long jazz standard with four tracks it was pretty easy listening. Not sure I’ll ever come back to it but…

Mid 3 Beautiful sound, it started a 5, but not quite enough idea establishment and development for me. It demands your attention but I can't remember how most of it goes. I need a bit more cohesion in the chaos.

Nice background music.

A very interesting album. For long stretches, I also liked it very much. However, there were also more difficult parts that I didn't get on with so well. The album is certainly very good, but I probably won't listen to it again soon. 3/5

I don't think I'm smart enough to fully appreciate this. 3/5

I was pleased with the flamenco bits.

Lots of interesting themes on here, but little of it stuck. My kids quite liked it, unusual for a jazz record - perhaps because it does sound quite "dance"-oriented, rhythmic?

Mingus is great, not my favorite album of his, my personal favorite is blues and roots but this is still very good. High 3.

Saved Prior: None Saved Off Rip: None Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Yes that was in fact jazz. Don't know enough about jazz to really understand what makes good jazz and what doesn't. Sounded pretty good to me, but also sounded like good ol' jazz.

I didn't think I'd make it through a second listen, but I stuck it out and gave 'er a go. (pats self on the back) While there are some parts of it I genuinely enjoy, the overwhelming majority just drones on far too long for me to really enjoy it. I appreciate the talent and musicality, but it's a no for me, Mingus.

No private session used for Spotify. I listened to this album twice, trying to get into. I like some jazz, but this goes a bit off the rails for me, it's too eclectic and admittedly over my head.

The gulf between how much I wanted to like this and how much I actually liked this was very wide. It was too chaotic and noisy for me. There are some runs I really liked, but I just couldn't get into this. I feel like a disappointment for not liking it.

Music to have a psychotic break from reality to! This is mostly just a ton of noises not in harmony. Then something cool pops up and is quickly discarded. Ultimately, my dislike of jazz got the better of me here. It wasn't totally unlistenable though, so it avoids the dreaded 1 star score.

This challenge has not been kind to me this weekend. First, Super Furry Animals—and now, more jazz. Unfortunately, this album felt like dull background music. The tracks blended together so seamlessly that I struggled to tell when one ended and another began. Track 3, in particular, stood out—but not in a good way. It had an odd, 1950s Disney-esque vibe that felt completely out of place. Very bizarre. I can’t help but wonder how many more jazz or swing albums I’ll have to endure. Favorite track: None stood out enough to pick. Least favorite track: Track 3, without a doubt. Album artwork: Nothing noteworthy to mention.

I can defo see and understand the attraction to this album and its brilliance. Its just not really for me!

Jazz noises Is this music? They are clearly musicians, but I don't want to listen to it.

really good album

my favourite album of all time. I love you mr mingus. highest 5 star of all 5 stars

I feel like this might be in my top ten of all time. A desert island album that always gives up something new on a listen. This album sounds like a night out in New Orleans and you take the band with you as you go. Stopping at a friends apartment, a funeral, the bars, and then back home as the sun comes up. Few albums bring me this much joy.

Easy 5

Ellingtonian elegance and orchestrational ingenuity intersects with the worlds of classical music and the avant-garde to create the music of Charles Mingus, one of the most respected (and feared) bassists, composers and arrangers in jazz history. The Black Saint... is his finest work in all of these areas, a ballet composed in six movements and arranged for an 11-piece big band by Bob Hammer. along with A Love Supreme, this was one of the first jazz albums I listened to as a kid, and it's another that I was kind of blindsided by at first, but which has made more and more sense to me over the years. my first major connection to this album came from the absolutely show-stopping performance from its lead alto saxophonist, Charlie Mariano. his tone is devastatingly gorgeous, and Mingus wrote him a bunch of brilliant melodies to show it off with. he's the ballet's closest link to its sultry, tender side; the brass section, especially trombonist Quentin Jackson, tend to take things to a pretty raucous extreme, especially on the multiple slow accelerandi that occur in several of the movements presented. Mingus does a lot of traffic direction from behind the bass, and he also makes multiple appearances as a pianist through the (then-pretty-new) magic of studio overdubbing, a technology which several players utilize across the runtime here, particularly flamenco guitarist Jay Berliner. the music frequently leans into chaotic group improvisations, lengthy solo cadenzas and other unexpected twists and turns, but that gorgeous sense of melodicism is always underpinning the proceedings. as far as large-ensemble jazz recorded in-studio, very few albums are this meticulous or ecstatic. 10/10.

I didn't think I was a jazz person, but I loved this. The pacing is amazing and it really feels like it's telling a story. Track A and Track B were my favorite.

Solo Dancer - 4.5/5 Duete Solo Dancers - 5/5 Group Dancers - 4.5/5 Trio and Group Dancers/Single Solos and Group Dance/Group and Solo Dance - 5/5 Man that was some good jazz. Felt like things were hopping all over the place but somehow it also felt like everything was right where it was supposed to be. And that got me hooked. Well the flamenco guitar hooked me in but still. Overall: 5/5 Favorites: Duete Solo Dancers, Trio and Group Dancers/Single Solos and Group Dance/Group and Solo Dance

Første plata på lista til nå jeg ikke har hørt før. Alt jeg hører er some damn good jazz, for å sitere Mark Gonzales. Hørte den to ganger på rappen.

Love

One of my favorite jazz albums. The brass and saxes are fantastic and it is not too drawn out and long.

Damn, this album was an experience! I absolutely loved that! I love avant-garde and experimental jazz, but I’ve got embarrassingly little knowledge of the genre as a whole. There are a lot of blind spots in my jazz listening history, so I really appreciate that this project is slowly filling them in.

I lowkey love some slow and sensual jazz. I wanna go to a dark jazz club and have a few cocktails in my little black dress omg. It would heal me frfr

Brilliant. Definitely worth a listen. Moody . When will.jazz come back? There's a lot of much worse stuff hiding this; even on this list

Love it !

Peak

Seeing how I have been on the site RateYourMusic before, I am aware of Charles Mingus, and particularly this album of his, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. This is because I have browsed the all-time best album chart, and this album happened to catch my eye; it is a bit juvenile but me and my friends thought the name Mingus was funny and since we don’t listen to jazz, Mingus became sort of a joke amongst us, a reference point for pretentious music that we would never listen to no matter how many dorks on RateYourMusic said it was good. Jazz is a genre in which I frankly never had any desire to explore, even though I consider myself somewhat intelligent, and I do often like art which some consider pretentious; at the end of the day, when it comes to music, I am pretty basic. My favourite albums are those that are built upon catchy melodies, relatable lyrics, and pleasant instrumentals. If an album doesn’t have at least one song that I can belt along to word-for-word, then I’m not really interested. Jazz is sort of the polar opposite of that ethos; it is intentionally complicated and inaccessible, with no clear melodies or memorable lyrics. It is sort of a cliche that Jazz is extremely technical and impressive music, played for a small audience, while rock music is technically simple yet played for a massive audience, of which I find myself amongst. But despite my reservations towards jazz, I knew that I had to give this album a fair shake, if not simply due to its universal acclaim, then for its reputation amongst my friends. My first listen was about what I expected; it was good for a jazz album, insofar as I enjoyed it about as much as I figured I could enjoy jazz, probably around the 7/10 range. However, it was on my second listen that I started to actually realize a few things about this album, jazz, and myself. This won’t be an extremely technical review, since the things that I enjoyed about the music and wish I were able to express with words are simply alien to me; I can’t even properly identify what instruments were playing in certain passages. But what I can hopefully convey are the emotions that I felt. The biggest revelation that I had during my second listen is that jazz (or whatever you would call this) should not be considered the same art form as simple rock or pop music. My biggest disservice to the genre was holding it to the standards that I would expect from those genres, but thinking about it now, it is lunacy to try to compare this and something like What’s The Story by Oasis. Jazz, much like rock/pop, is an art form which focuses on auditory perception to invoke emotion, and that is where the similarities end. I previously assumed I wouldn’t like jazz due to its lack of the song structure that I was used to, specifically, lyrics. But what I noticed about The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady was that, though there were no words being spoken, there was still communication. Each instrument was speaking to the other as if they were engaging in open discourse at a symposium; a story was being told not through explicit words, but through a form of communication that ignores your brain and speaks directly to your soul. The words will be different for each listener, as they are vague yet powerful, conjuring up the most buried memory and fleeting feeling that you have ever experienced. At times, the music is chaotic, which is why the album can have some sort of barrier upon entry. It is hard for someone like me with no technical understanding to differentiate the noises and try to make sense of what I’m hearing. But once you are able to stop asking for the answers, and instead start listening to them, you find the beauty amongst the chaos. The actual music feels so familiar to me, yet at the same time sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard. Most of my experience with jazz has come through its usage in cinema, which is why the album has such a cinematic and picturesque feel to me. There are parts of the album that almost sound like an old western movie, then a few moments later, it sounds like the climax to a thriller. The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady is a reminder of who you are, an experience which explores your soul and lays it bare. I still think that after hearing this, I’ll be able to enjoy simple music, but at the same time, I wonder if, as a society, we have regressed in our art. I have always enjoyed classical music for its ability to express emotion so colourfully, so I’m unsure why I wrote off jazz, as it sort of feels like the spiritual successor. I had a moment of realization mid-way through the final track, that my shitty 20-dollar Amazon wireless earbuds were capable of creating noises so impactful; such a small and insignificant object has the potential convey such technical and emotive sound. This whole blurb of text definitely comes across as some guy who tried psychedelics for the first time and thinks he is the only one who has undergone ego-death, but I’m just excited that I’ve actually had such a unique experience with music that I wasn’t expecting. Part of me wonders if I’m waxing lyrical a bit too much; maybe it wasn’t actually that good, maybe I just like the idea of what I’m describing more than what I actually felt. But regardless, it certainly won’t be the last time that I listen to this album, and this certainly won’t be where I end my newly discovered interest in jazz. The only part of this album which I would say wasn’t perfect was the first track, which has sort of an abrasive string sound that kept repeating, and ending on a pretty chaotic note; but it’s hard to dock it points for that since it was clearly intentional in setting up the subsequent tracks. I almost don’t want to give this album a 10 since it is incredibly tacky for the one jazz album that I listened to, which just so happens to be the most well-regarded jazz album of all time, to have supposedly blown my mind in such a way. But from what I gather, this album is actually one of the harder Mingus albums to get into, so the fact that it clicked for me this early proves to me that I actually might like jazz a whole lot more than I thought I did. So if I end up becoming a jazz aficionado like I suspect I might, I will always look back to my first experience with the genre, and so I will undoubtedly have to give this album it’s flowers (or I’ll never listen to another jazz album again, change this rating to a 7, and think “man what was I on that night”). Also, the title is one of my favourite album titles, even before I ever thought I would enjoy it, and Mingus has a lot of aura on the cover. Best Songs: Trio and Group Dancers, Group Dancers, Duet Solo Dancers Worst Song: None Score out of 10: 10

Peak Jazz.

Mingus at his shamanistic best. Somehow ramshackle and meticulously orchestrated.

Well smack my black ass and call me Parker , this one is a masterpiece

Day 6. My favorite jazz musician of all time. Doesn't get better than this. I've spun this record so many times and it hits every single time. Fantastic, experimental, and just wonderful listening. Fantastic album.

This is incredible. Like if Mozart made jazz.

crazy good. charles mingus was a discovery to me

What a blast! I'd never heard it and at times it's close to as far as I can go with jazz. But it's so thrilling, even in those more avant garde bits. The way Track B - Duet Solo Dancers starts of slow and intimate, then builds up into a frantic rhythm, then seems to fall apart before picking up again into the ending in which you can almost visualise the duo of dancers, is worth the price of the album. But that also goes for the piano and somehow oriental-sounding flourishes in the 'Group Dance' track that follows, and for many more moments here. I don't want to overdo it on the five star ratings, but with the selection of outstanding albums we're getting and my broad tastes, maybe it's unavoidable. Five it is. Going on my wish list, this one!

Incredible Not a wasted moment 9.5/10

Divine! Five stars! (Did anyone else hear Cruella De Vil in there?)

groundbreaking, ambitious six-part suite blending avant-garde complexity with blues, flamenco, Duke Ellington, and gospel. Innovative use of the big band, inventive studio techniques (like overdubbing), and deep emotional depth, solidified by Mingus's own psychiatrist's liner notes, solidifying its status as a landmark in jazz history.

mingus WINgus