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

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.

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

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.

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.

dirty sexy rollercoaster

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 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)

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.

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

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.

JAZZ!

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.

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...

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

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 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

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

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

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

This is what ADHD sounds like when you like jazz

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

With jazz, it’s always Mingus, Mingus, Mingus

I'm a jazz troglodyte, but I loved this album from my 1st time hearing it some years ago in college. It feels like everything I'd ever hoped for jazz to be. Simultaneously dark, joyful, catchy, experimental, powerful, and subtle. it works, all of it.

I just reached track c and oh my God.

Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest albums ever made. This album is so accessible to those less experienced with jazz can still appreciate it, but at the same time breaks so much ground and is immensely creative. The introduction of an acoustic guitar half way through the album is amazing, giving it a more latin feel in its latter half, and having an instrumenta a lot less common within the genre.

Maybe it's my bias as a try-hard bass player, but I loved this. That said, it's definitely an album that I would be reluctant to recommend to anyone who I didn't know already liked jazz.

This album is awe inspiring and is thrilling to listen to. Mingus is a great composer and I felt like each movement really told a story. Wish the list had more stuff like this.

MINGUS

Favorite Mingus.

I always find Mingus a bit "complicated" and I seldom put on an album by him. This one, I did not know. But a nice and great listening. Very clearly a 5 here!

I had it on repeat for hours

I don't really "understand" jazz. This album isn't catchy. It isn't memorable. I couldn't even hum a bar of it. And yet, it's great. You can listen intently, concentrating on each instrument, or you can put it on as background music. Wonderful stuff either way.

I had listened to this a couple of times before and enjoyed it, but never really absorbed it until now. It's not really like any other jazz I've heard before, and is an interesting blend of styles. It is a bit Avant-garde, but not in an off putting way. Very refreshing in general, and I can see how it might work as a ballet. Very emotional and dramatic, with a nice bit of resolution in the end.

General impression: visionary and amazing Detailed review: I’ll be coming back to this for sure. I’m very impressed and a little bowled over by the experience of listening to this album. It’s got these natural swells of energy, and one minute it sounds very composed and the next minute it’s off on some improvisatory flight. Definitely needs more listens to be fully digested, but I’ve heard enough to confidently give this bad boy a 5. Deeper thoughts (context): Score: 5 Number of albums left to review: 943 Number of albums from the list I’d consider “must-listens”: 35 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 23

Another jazz classic, and this one landed nicely on a Sunday to help kick off those chill Sunday vibes I needed. Really enjoyed the blending of some other music styles in to this album, yet still keeping that Mingus’ feel. I needed this as lately I’ve had a lot of middling albums and duds.

much affection as i afford it, the big band jazz orchestra always felt wasted playing swing and 78 rpm single standards. therefore, using the thick sound of big band to make something that never feels simply pleasant, but challenging and complex, works like a cheat code on me. still, my only complaint is that, although the sound and direction of the thing is beautiful, as a ballet, it feels a bit lacking by having no choreography to go along with it. i know people make their own to go along and perform it, but i think the only thing keeping this from being an all timer is not seeing one of those performances live. who knows. maybe someone in Colorado will dare to and i'll revisit this with the proper idea of how one would move to it. God knows i'd embarrass myself if i tried.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a 1963 studio album from Charles Mingus. Mingus releases an extensive list of recordings, and The Black Saint is regarded as one of his best, and one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded. This work was composed as a ballet, and was written for the "big band" format that Mingus was performing and recording with in the early 60s. This is Mingus' anguished and joyful picture of the world, told through his rich, textured compositions.

#2: I normally don’t expose myself to jazz but rather enjoy it when I do. This album was a great listen for me. I like that it’s not too long and it has enough variation between tracks to give me some break between listening. The ensemble of instruments over the four tracks adds a layer of character to each track that makes them unique to each other. One track you have a little guitar, some you have flute and piano. It really is a great array of sound. Track D seemed like a great culmination of the previous tracks, but that could just be me guessing. Would definitely like to add this one to my vinyl collection and want to hear more jazz like this.

11/03 yeah this is very cool!

The vibiest shit I ever heard.

I really enjoyed this one, but I’ll admit it might be a lot to take in if you’re not sure what you’re getting into. It’s avant-garde jazz at its best, with a hint of Spanish flair and layers that pull from all sorts of influences. It’s almost like each layer has a mind of its own, yet somehow it all comes together perfectly.

If you didn't give this album five stars I'm not sure this whole music reviewing lark is for you.

I love this album. One of Mingus's two masterpieces. You need the right setting for it, but the single-take approach is awesome.

Well. This is fucking incredible. Never listened to Mingus and I have no idea why. The notes in the book are correct, this certainly announces itself from the very opening bars. Absolutely tremendous stuff. This is the jazz I want. I'll be having a good old dig through his discography. Oh god, it's just magnificent, from the off right to the very end. Absolutely one of the very best albums I've heard out of the nearly 900 I've got through here. Music for the soul.

Original and masterful 4.6

Straight 5*

I'm not sure I'm qualified to speak on the merits of Jazz, but Mingus is definitely one of the greats. I enjoyed this album more than any other jazz album I've listened to. You can feel the emotion poured into the instruments. This album produced more emotion from me than many vocal led albums. Best Songs: Track A, Track C Worst Songs: NA

What an incredible, varied record. The sounds that this band is making are other worldly. There are moments where the jams are so deep that I'm not even sure I could describe the music as "jazz." The brass just waaaaaails. It feels like Modest Mouse at times, then they the flutes come in and kind of chirp like birds. I love how the Spanish Guitar opens and closes sections in different songs. The bass is so humming and grounding. He's working hard on that bass, it’s always moving and progressing, keeping the story flowing. I really love how Avant-Garde a lot of this record gets. I would almost describe it as heavy at parts. Like, it's not exactly easy listening. But it’s also somehow extremely digestible. Which is what makes it so fun, because each song is just going on an ever progressing and regressing journey. It and its down, but always moving. This record was brilliant.

Incredible jazz compositions. Charles Mingus gets it.

Shit a brick, I like a jazz album! For the first time ever in my life! That’s thrown me, what do I do now?

5/5

Swirling, mysterious, provocative. I love it.

Wat een force of nature is deze plaat. We volgen op ''The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady'' een mentale danschoreografie van Charles Mingus, die de luisteraar meeneemt in een chaotische reis. Ik hou van jazz waar de muziek ondanks die wanorde en confusie telkens weer op z'n pootjes terechtkomt, en bij de hand wordt genomen door intrigerende melodieën. De opener is in mijn boek één van de beste (deel)composities in de avant-garde jazz. Zo'n gelikte mix tussen spanning, duisternis en dissonantie enerzijds, en het lichtvoetige en swingende middenstuk anderzijds. En dat einde is pure extase, en is zonder twijfel een inspiratiebron voor vele post-punk bands van vandaag de dag. Bands als Squid, Swans en Viagra Boys maken gretig gebruik van dergelijk geweld. Het tweede stuk van dit album - dat als één compositie ervaren dient te worden - is 'Duet Solo Dancers'. Deze pakt de intieme melodielijn van Track A weer eventjes op, maar onrust en paniek is nooit ver weg op deze plaat. Dat hangt - zoals wel vaker - als een donkere wolk boven zijn muziek. De crescendo naar opnieuw een angstaanjagend slot, weliswaar wat minder dan in Track A, maakt de eerste helft van het album echt een attractie. Daarna komt de meest emotionele passage van het album, 'Group Dancers'. Echt een betoverende melodie, die langzaam transformeert in een ware tango. En zoals valt te verwachten bij een tango in groepsverband, ontpopt Track C zich tot een furieuze dans. De tweede helft van de plaat wordt volledig toegewijd aan Track D. Dit is een clusterfuck aan kalme fases en monsterlijke uitbarstingen. Kantje één had die balans precies goed, maar in dit laatste deel beweegt de muziek iets te veel in cirkels. Neemt niet weg dat die laatste uitbarsting echt ongekend is, en nooit eerder vertoont tot de dag van vandaag. Daar kan geen post-punk band tegenop. En de transitie terug naar de hoofdmelodie van Track A zorgt voor rust, en completeert de zenuwslopende doch fascinerende reis door het hoofd van één van de grootste jazz bandleaders ooit. 9/10 Highlights: Track A - Solo Dancer Track C - Group Dancers

I know better other more accessible albums from Mingus, but this one is really great. Totally crazy. It's full of the things I love in other genres of music: full of contrasts, dissonance, experimentation, and just enough melodies to keep you afloat.

I really enjoyed this album. Listened to it a few times. Will definitely be checking out his other albums.

Mingus was a mad genius and this album clearly shows it. Even after a few listens it's still has passages that sound like it's delivered from some extraterrestrial life form. It's remarkable his evolution from just a few years prior. This album get's 5 stars for the innovation and sadly it appears to be the only Mingus album on the list.

Charles Mingus might be the single biggest musical impact on my life. 5 stars doesn't even come close to covering it

When it comes to jazz music, my adventure, like many others, started with this seminal '63 Mingus record. And if anyone were to ask me where they should start with jazz music, I'd probably recommend this record, with the other obvious pick being Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue'. Honestly, I'm no jazz expert, but to my ears, 'The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady' presents some of the genre's hookiest, most direct, versatile, and diverse-sounding music. I mean listen to the flute and piano-driven motif that's established early on in 'Group Dancers' and then bought back several times throughout the following medley. Or the flamenco-inspired guitar that comes in a couple of times backed by nothing but deafening silence or this lone saxophone that patiently croons along to it. And when the horn section comes in, it sounds so brisk and heavy, so full-sounding - it's difficult to describe exactly but it's undeniably evocative nevertheless. It feels like a cold winter day out in the city - as cliche as that might sound. Mingus, while being the bassist and pianist here, is also the genius composer behind this album. And it *does* feel composed, something jazz purists were probably relishing at the advent of the free jazz movement. It has its classical sensibilities but also easily slides into these chaotic pockets before seamlessly transforming back into its more structured and melodic form. I'd say this is best demonstrated near the ~11-minute mark of the closing medley. As for what I think this album is about - well honestly I don't know. This album does create a strong mood, though it's one steeped in abstraction and mystery. As the liner notes and names of the songs indicate, it's an album that often relates itself to movement or dancing with a song like 'Duete Solo Dancers' cooling up the tempo and the following 'Group Dancers' slowly boiling it up again before it bursts in the closing medley. Hearing this record for the first time years back as a kid who wanted nothing to do with jazz and its enigmatic compositions, this album really opened my ears to this kind of music. Obviously, with those floodgates open, I'd go on to not only listen to more jazz but also to more daunting projects in general. It takes a really special (and incredible) album to change the way you think about music.

This album made me feel a lot of things. I have a really hard case of ADHD and this crazy chaotic music made me feel at peace. My wife on the other hand could not stand it so I switched to headphones laid down on my bed, closed my eyes and just completely drifted away. It does not happen to me very often. I always need to be doing something else when listening to the music. Drawing, walking with my dog, exercising, the list goes on. It's very hard for me to just sit down and listen. Not this time. Thanks Mingus, you made me want to get into jazz on a much deeper scale than before!

Although I don't regularly listen to any form of jazz, I always appreciate the chance to get exposed to a jazz album and/or artist. It's nice to get a distinctively different style from previous jazz albums in this collection, and I enjoyed the album and the ebb and flow of each track, although as with most instrumental-focused music (especially long tracks) I find it's sometimes hard to stay focused and actively appreciative, but not as much as I expected with this album. I could even sort of visualize the various dances over the course of the album, which even I'm surprised by (and would likely make my mother proud, as she tried so hard with my brothers and me to instill some sort of ability to appreciate classical music and the themes and storylines; in that sense, this album (vaguely) reminds me of an infinitely more interesting, mature and wild version of story-based classical pieces like "Peter and the Wolf" or "The Nutcracker Suite"). I think my favorite movement/track was "Track B - Duet solo dancers" (subtitled "Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces"); but I also really liked the unexpected Spanish/flamenco guitar in "Mode D - Trio and Group Dancers" ("Stop! Look! And Sing Songs of Revolutions!"). I also just *really* enjoyed a completely unexpected experience listening to this "jazz" album. I liked it that the Wikipedia entry included the subtitles to each movement; I was bummed that the entry overall was remarkably sparse on details or even narrative flow, given how highly rated this album has been for so many people. I also appreciated the "1001 Albums" entry for this album, not just for highlighting how masterful the drummer is on this album at keeping everything moving in the right direction, but also for the broader context of this almost genre-defying album.

One of the top 5 jazz albums of all time. Takes you through a spiritual journey.

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY <3 solo dancers- 8 or 9 duete solo dancers- 8 or 9 group dancers- mingus in the studio is like: this is the most gorgeous and insane piece people have ever seen... drop it. 9 medley- 9 or 10 he saved me

Very evocative and conceptualized. Does not feel meandering or indulgent at all. Very intentional and interesting orchestration. I quite enjoy Mingus 👍

soulful

dark and brilliant

Not an album, but a symphony. I can see why someone wouldn’t be into this, but it worked for me. What that asshat John Zorn wishes he could be.

++: Track A – Solo Dancers, Track B – Duete Solo Dancers, Track C – Group Dancers, Mode D – Trio and Group Dancers, Mode E – Single Solos and Group Dance, Mode F – Group and Solo Dance 9,7/10

I don't normally listen to jazz, but this is a masterpiece. It combines the best of classical and popular music along an experimental vibe

This was my first time listening to a jazz album. I loved it. At first listen I probably would've given it 4 stars but the more I listen the more it grows on me. I like how it can sound so dissonant yet be so engaging and simply beautiful at the same time. Fave: track C

Tremendous stuff. My favourite jazz record of all time

This is some seriously next level shit. Brilliant and clear production, this album will change your life. 5/5

One of jazz's most daring and exciting records ever. Its multi-segmented pieces range from avant-garde horn playing, beautiful guitar solos, to absolute sonic chaos when everyone starts to play progressively faster. An absolute thrill from start to finish, and a testament to Mingus' ability to elevate everyone as a bandleader.

Freaking awesome!!!!

Mingus is one to watch. This is the type of Jazz I want to listen to.