The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

easy listening music, I love the elements of i guess double base that remind me of hearing music live in switzerland and also add such emotion to the music.

I like jazz

Jazzy and fun I like the mix of the Spanish guitar. Not the most entertaining but relaxing

I do not have the jazz sophistication to make an informed comment. It sounds like a very hot humid day in the south where everything you want is a cold lemonade. I give it three cause I don’t know.

This is jazz. This is quite random and sporadic jazz. This is jazz I couldn't work out if I enjoyed it or not. There was a lot to respect, but a lot to challenge. It felt like Mingus decided that he wanted to challenge his listeners, but also write some cool music (quite a big step in the early 60s!). 3 Stars.

This album is like a young boys first Blue Light disco (or Jet Sonic, if you are a bit younger). He doesn’t know how to talk to girls yet, so he just has three cans of coke and runs round the place. He also doesn’t know how to dance, so instead of asking a girl to slow dance with him, he just gets on the dance floor and flails every limb around furiously.

This **** is magnificent :')

No questioning the talent and maelstrom of music made by these guys jamming - but not an easy listen. Wonderful yet as my wife just said - not to her taste.

NO MORE FUCKING JAZZ

Solo Dancer - 4/5 Duet Solo Dancers - 3/5 Group Dancers - 4/5 Trio and Group Dancers - 4/5 Average score: 3.8/5 while i wish i could rate this higher, i'm afraid this is too complex for me to fully appreciate. props for the musicianship tho

Dig for diamond found peak

Pretty nice jazz vibes

Para no gustarme especialmente el jazz ya me he escuchado este disco dos veces en lo que va de día. Y es que, además de jazz, aquí también ha mucho swing y bastante exploración en lo que ahora llamamos World Music, sobre todo de África y, oh sorpresa, España. De las cuatro partes de la que consta el álbum, prácticamente la totalidad de la cuarta es una composición con aires flamencos y guitarra española bastante inesperada pero muy muy acertada. Por razones obvias, es la parte con la que más he conectado. Y es que el disco comienza frenético, continúa bastante acelerado y solo al comienzo de la parte D nos da un respiro, porque el final vuelve a ser de mascletà. ¡Que viva el viento!

I'm no Jazz-head but I sure as hell know this album is a classic. I probably don't understand it on a "deep" level but the payoffs are so good that they repurpose all the build up. Usually when I've done listening to it I just want to put it on again.

It’s nice background music, I don’t fully get it tbh

Loved that. You’ve got to turn up if you have an 18 min track on your album and Charlie does just that. Listened to him all day.

Incredible jazz album that feels like a story progressing through it

Jazz is not for me...

There were a few songs I really loved, but most of it was not my style.

Jazz isn't my bag but this is brilliant. 5*.

I have mixed feelings about this album. There are some very beautiful parts but also some very messy saxophone sounds that turn the music into cacophony. 3/5

A six-part jazz ballet with liner notes by his therapist...in 1963?! Thank you, KING MINGUS, for this symphonic séance of self-dissection.

fireeee

I read that this was an avant-garde jazz album before listning to it, which helped me set my expectations. This is not an easy album to listen to. It goes everywhere, and switches up the genres at the drop of a hat. I usually listen to my 1001-album of the day, at work. This is not a good album to listen to while working. But consider all that, i really like it. I doubt i'll listen to it, again though

эта музыка без структуры с рандомными агрессивными дудками меня убивает. и мой мозг тоже

The words to describe this record are leaving me by the second. The fingertips that write those words on the keyboard want to give out. My soul may have been relocated at various points. This is the result of what this record does to me. There's good art, great art and then something as flattering, as bold and as original as The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady. The multiple themes coming in and out, the speed picking up and down, the absolute reward of a full listen. With this record, Charles Mingus cements himself as one of the most vibrant and brash jazz composers of all time. My heart is in my head, my mind's in the freezer and my soul is with the cleaners. Praise the soul (10/10, 5/5 on this scale)

Not exactly catchy but the chaos makes it interesting.

I thought this was interesting! I consider myself generally a fan of Jazz, but this was a certain niche within Jazz that I found pretty cool. It felt like a combination of early fusion MIles Davis (In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew) along with (interestingly enough) a hint of classical music, especially the more Jazz inspired composers such as Gershwin and Ravel. I also liked the variety of instruments he used, including an acoustic guitar at one point. Interesting is definitely the one word I would use to describe this. Favorite Track: Track B- Duete Solo Dancers

I’m glad I waited to listen to this while I walked around a fall night in portland

60s Jazz-Ballet. Looks cool, sounds cool. Bit more experimental or atonal than I like them. Smooth as velvet.

Jazzy

Ah, jazz. I hoped this was going to be that kind of smooth jazz I can handle while doing work. Alabama 3 slightly sold me a lie on that. It was that in parts. Other parts were certainly quite interesting and novel. Other bits were annoying jazz. Can see why Mingus is so respected but too jazzy for me.

This was a bit frenetic. I was pretty calm when I put it on and it didn't really grab me. I think if I'd have already been a bit ruffled I would have hated it. I'm not really a jazz person and this isn't the album which is going to turn me into one.

Bbys first jazz album, men et mesterverk likeså.

Detektiv-musikk!

Endelig får jeg satt meg ned og skrevet om dette albumet. Det er vel det første ordentlige jazz albumet vi fikk på lista, da passer det godt at det også er det beste jazz albumet som eksisterer. Dette albumet har fulgt meg over mange år, og det blir bare bedre og bedre hver gang man hører det. Det er kult kaotisk, rått, fint og totalt unikt. Hvordan han får det til, ander jeg ikke.

Amazing record -- great performances throughout. great listening too. would love to spend more time with it and have it around. From a really cool era of jazz as well. The piano sections of the final track are especially noteworthy.

great

I couldn't bring myself to listen to the album after the first song. Or should I say cacamaphony.

This one just dragged for me. Honestly, it sounded like any other jazz record, and nothing about it stood out in a way that made me want to stick around. For something that’s only 39 minutes long, it felt like the longest 39 minutes ever. I get that Charles Mingus is a legend and this album has a lot of respect in jazz circles, but as a straight-up listening experience, I was just ready for it to end. It’s dense, it’s chaotic, and instead of pulling me in, it just wore me down. Glad I can say I listened to it once, but I would not go back to it. Two stars for the effort, but this one was not for me at all.

To be honest a kind of pleasant listen whilst I was working away although it also just sounded like jazz, I can’t really comment either way but it also wasn’t as bad as some of the other crap we’ve had so I guess by some default it’s a 2.

I mean the reality is that I don’t listen to Jazz music at all. I do respect it as a genre, and thought track 3 onwards was a nice listen, but I was a little disappointed by this. It felt like the first two tracks had no synchronisation with their melody between the brass and the drums. As if they were playing different rhythms at different tempos with no real cohesion, and cohesion is something I would have expected a Jazz record to have in abundance.

Love this album

second time listening, still hasn't totally clicked but fascinating to listen to. not my style of jazz but mesmerizing and dynamic all the way

He's no Roy Donk but he was on the Colgate Hour

What I’ve learned through this project is that while I do enjoy jazz, but I do not enjoy experimental jazz. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is ambitious and highly regarded, but it’s just not the kind of jazz that connects with me.

It's big and brassy but so so short. Goes by in a flash. Very sexy and full of passion. I dont really care for the second track and it's 1/4 of the album, so can't be a five but glad to have it.

Instant save. Energetic, complex, eventually. The gipsy guitar brought it to 5

This album makes me want to drink martini’s and smoke cigarettes in a dimly lit bar

Perfect album

Track A - mega cool Track B - sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher is telling him off Track C - I'm in New York and it's night time. It's raining and the roads are bright with reflected light. Down these mean streets we must go. Track D - wtf? Who invited the flamenco dancer? I'm getting Police Squad vibes. A curate's egg.

Jazz EXTREMAMENTE experimental, com mistura de estilos. Disco curto com faixas longas. Exige um pouco de paciência para apreciá-lo. Na primeira ouvida me cansou um pouco.

Malheureusement c’est vraiment pas mon style mais pourtant je reconnais la qualité

A wild ride!

4-

Nice jaaaaaz music

Simply beautiful.. no criticism.

Good just not for me

this is not the easiest listen for someone who don’t love jazz. i enjoy piano based jazz without much else in it but yeah, this is quite chaotic feeling at times but can tell it’s of great quality. 3.5/5

Some pretty cool dark and moody jazz sounds . But would I ever pick up this record and listen to it? Most likely not.

Would buy.

freaky, progressive, radical, intense, and utterly facemelting. this album rocks. still fire and shocking nowadays. in '63 i bet this blew people's minds deserves to be one of the 1001? you bet ur ass it does

I give it a three, but it is a high 3 stars - Great Jazz Album!

It's hard to get into jazz, especially when it got taken over by the mainstream and easy listening or smooth jazz became the norm, especially during the 60s. But Charlie Mingus always sounds cool to me, and I can definitely appreciate his artistry, even if I am a jazz noob. He manages to find new dimensions and pathways into the basic melody that no normal musician would ever think of, and it all works as an artistic whole.

A little chaotic. I can recognize the talent, but not my jam per se.

I'm a lover of jazz but this kind a bit much.

Beautiful and immersive. This album makes you feel like you are in a Walter Mosley novel.

Piccolo's running with a pretty wild crowd.

Ok

Pairs great with a NYC stroll

Enjoyed the throughline and played it twice.

I liked it!

he was the king of the tuck-tuck sound!

Clearly I’m not cut out for jazz as this was a mess for me. I enjoyed the Spanish style guitar interludes but otherwise found the entire thing tough to follow and enjoy. 1/5

Cool Jazz album. Not sure I will listen again. 5.7/10

This made me feel sad, which I think meant it was working but I did not want to feel sad

What a wild ride!! Really loved this album, the eccentric sound and wild passages leading right into beautiful sections of sonic excellence

Pretty good jazz!

This album is four songs, 39 minutes. I got through the first three songs without enjoying much. When the fourth song started and I noticed it was 18 minutes long. I may have just given up. 1.6 outta 5

This music was overwhelming for me.

Chaotic. Occasionally discordant-feeling. Improvisational vibe. Track #2… so it’s really gonna be like this the whole way through, huh? Hard to believe this was only 5 years before In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. What a diverse musical culture this country has. Track 4’s Spanish guitar was unexpected and made me smile haha! I’ve heard track 4 sampled in other songs, I’m sure of it. Around the 5:45/6 min mark. Very experimental album. Overall did not enjoy.

The second I put this on, my cat got so stressed he started freaking out. I guess he really hated this album but I liked it well enough :)

I never know what to do with jazz. Its full of masterpiece moments and then it fades out to acceptable and back and forth. Im always amazed by what the players so off the cuff but im not musically inclined enough to fully grasp how and why they do what they do. This was pretty good all that considered. I thought mingus was a piano guy but I hear he's a bass man. And I respect that. Those guys are always my favorite to be honest. Just the cool collected background who you dont think of much but if they wrent there you would know immediately. The performances that stand out are the Spanish guitar and the sax and piano. Lots of very great moments with each. I had a good time and even saved a piece which I wasn't expecting.

Makes me feel like I’m a detective solving crimes and smoking cigarettes. Suddenly I am clocked around the head with a hammer and in the ensuing wooziness I stumbled downstairs and into the street. It’s raining, the feeling of my wet woollen suit on my skin disgusts me. I peel the suit off and lay in the gutter unaware of what has just happened.

a pleasure

Unpleasant

The highest rated jazz album of all time on Rate Your Music (https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/g:jazz/) Solid

mingus

eh

Good background music but it did not stand out vs. Davis, Brubeck, Coltrane et al.

Mingus and his crew swing hard w complicated rhythms, extended solos, and some cacophony. It’s righteous - but sometimes hard to listen to.

Kinda felt like one of those dreams you have after 3 shots of NyQuil and a 102° fever

4.1 2x good stuff

This one's took me on a fantastic little trip. Works to either sit, listen and get lost in the music or to have on when doing something to help keep me going. I'd love to sit and listen to this on vinyl through a state of the art early '60s hi-fi, as God intended. Ah what the hell, first one (I'm only 20 in) I listened to twice in one day.

This was cacophonous. Freeform Jazz? It sounded like no one was playing the same song.

Not a fan, sounds kind of annoying

This album was quite experimental, even for a genre like jazz. Charles Mingus is an absolute legend in this genre, so I understand the placement on this list. But this was a little hard to follow and I consider myself a jazz enjoyer.

so this is probably objectively a good album but it’s just so not my style of music unfortunately i only made it through the first 2 songs

Loved this. I often struggle with jazz because I feel like I can't grasp the thread, but this was accessible the whole way through.

Good

Any time I listen to legendary jazz, it always evokes cinematic images of big cities bustling with movement and life. Jazz is organic. It didn’t really hit well enough, however, to keep my attention while driving down semi-rural roads. I also don’t think that jazz is ever going to soothe/heal me in the way that lyric-based music does.

If I'm ever playing a game with a confusing drug screen where pink panther keeps jumping out and opening doors, for them to be a cartoon world that you spiral into, I'll think of this b

The music was enjoyable and there was clear talent, but I am just not too interested in Jazz. I found it hard to concentrate on and my mind kept drifting away

Charlie Mingus could do no wrong. Brilliant album. Up there with The Clown and Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Plays Piano. . . and Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. . .

Its Mingus ... c'mon!

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is my favorite jazz album and one of my favorite albums of all time. Charles Mingus was the first jazz artist that fully clicked for me. I had listened to some jazz before him and enjoyed it, but his music was the first that I felt like I connected to and really fell in love with. This album is so unique and perfect. It returns to the same motifs and themes and sucks you down deeper into it. It feels almost hypnotic. It’s a full experience in a way that the best albums are

When it comes to ‘proper’ jazz, I think Charles Mingus is probably one of my favourites - he’s certainly the one I reach for the most when the mood takes me. The thing is, I have no idea how to express what I think about it - I just know I really enjoy losing myself in it. The genre can often be tricky to make sense of but although Mingus’ records always feel like the real deal in terms of the gritty technicalities, they often feel very accessible to an untrained ear. This isn’t my favourite Mingus record but it’s a mightily immersive album that will sweep you away if you let it.

Off the cuff remark: it pains me to say it but Mingus always has me thinking that my tastes in jazz are very conservative. There is no doubt about the technical ability and invention, but for most music these are not two elements which necessarily impress me. The occasional dischordant element or repeated phrase sometimes makes for a challenging listen. At times I get it and at times it just gets on my nerves. Standout track: Track B Duete Solo Dancers, perhaps Revisit?: I already have a couple of Mingus albums in my collection and I don't think I will be adding this.

Too busy, but with some nice moments here and there. Fun listen but not in the musical top.

If you enjoy jazz you will dig this album. I like some of it, parts of the third track missed me, then it brought me back. The first two songs had me looking more of his stuff up. I enjoyed it.

Музыка: 3/10 Разнообразие: 5/10 Тематика и вайб: 2/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 1/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 2/10 Итог: 2.6

This is the kind of jazz you hear at Christmas time, settled down at a coffee shop or something, watching people go about their evenings. Its great background music that doesnt do too much to pull your attention, just a good jazzy vibe.

That’s some jazzy jazz but it’s mostly noise to me. Not my thang but I can appreciate the talent it takes to make this noise

not what I usually listen to but very cool, bluesy, growly. love the instruments.

Relaxing.

Once again, I still don't get jazz. This album is a bit worse than other jazz albums I've listened to on the list. It seems to be all over the place, like everyone is just playing whatever they want. The musicians are talented, but I just don't get the music.

well yeah It's a jazz album

Beautiful

Simply one of the greatest works of jazz of all time. Mingus’ twisted melodies presented a challenging tone shift to the genre at the time, and paved the way for a darker variant of jazz that ventured into a more complicated emotional approach that listeners weren’t accustomed to at the time. Legend.

It’s not MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS, but it IS jazz and that means today is a good day. Sayonara Britpop. See you in hell, New Wave. You know, because I’m now a worldly musical aficionado, I know that Charles Mingus is a bassist and I now realize that he’s not playing a horn on the front cover, but rather lighting a sick ass pipe. And that hat? This is one of the hardest album covers we’ve had come up. Secret to appealing album covers: pipes and hats. Throw in a quote from a poem, and we’re open for business. Big time. Solo Dancer (Stop! Look! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!) - Yes. That is the song title. I don’t make the rules. If I did, I’d make it a rule that we listen to jazz every day. Mandatory Hard Bop hour. This is so layered and cool. The repetitive, lurching horns create this atmosphere of beautiful chaos LISTEN TO THAT BASS. This is great. Duet Solo Dancers (Hearts’ Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces) - Oh man. This is when technical knowledge might help me a lot. All I can say is “the part where it slows down and it sounds like the horns are talking in muffled human voices is gud.” I truly have a way with words. Yeah, uhh a get out of the way! Alright. Group Dancers (Soul Fusion) (Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom’s Slave Cries) - What the hell. Man are we getting flamenco passages followed by flute solos? Insane. Truly wonderful. Trio and Group Dancers (Stop! Look! And Sing of Revolutions!) / Single Solis and Group Dance (Saint and Sinner Join in Merriment on Battle Front) / Group and Solo Dance (Of Love, Pain and Passioned Revolt, Then farewell, My Beloved, ‘Til It’s Freedom Day) - Are there enough words in that title? Did I close all the parentheses? Who cares. This album is too good to even sit here and make dumb jokes that don’t translate well to the written word. That’s usually my MO. Another classic track that fits seamlessly as part of this incredible record. Due to my early perusals on RYM, I’ve been aware of this album for years. I believe I tried to listen to it once in my younger days, but it was a little too far out at that point. This album is much like coffee. Energizing, soothing, vibrant, and certainly an acquired taste. I have acquired that taste. From the driving basslines to the fantastically interesting song titles, to the instrumental tricks, this is some of the best jazz has to offer. Hook this to my veins and don’t stop til I say when. I want the full jazz experience. Intravenous drug use included. 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Don’t ask me. Come on man, don’t ask me.

I think I just found the kind of jazz I like!

okay this was so intricate and savory and swanky! i'm generally too dumb to fully appreciate jazz but i can tell when i'm hearing something this well -crafted. i am not one to put jazz on at home but LOVE a jazz lounge in person. i would play this in a jazz lounge (live of course) with an expensive whiskey on the rocks.

Reading other reviews, people either love this album or hate it. I personally enjoyed the chaotic nature and mixture of different parts of each song. I can understand how it’s not to everyone’s liking but would not call it bad.

Jazz bassist, pianist and composer Charles Mingus' 1963 studio album is a melodically rich and harmonically complex work, with the pieces linked together by recurring motifs and chord progressions, but which also moves through a variety of moods and styles before reaching its conclusion.

Jazzy jazz. If you like jazz, you’ll like this album. Blah blah jazz, jazz blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. It all sounds the same. 1001 album worthy: no - 106/199

normal and explosive

I'm not really a fan of modern jazz so although this is clearly talented playing, it just sounds like discordant noise to me. Wasted on me totally I'm afraid

Tiene el ritmo de un sueño, puede pasar de frenetico a tranquilo casi ni que te enteres. Tambien creo que puede ser muy buen representativo del ruido mental y tene mil pensamientos a la vez. Eso si si tienes sensibilidad con los ruidos altos te recomiendo escucharlo a volumen bajo/medio. Jazz que me recuerda a cowboy bebop. No se lleva el 10 porque el final ha sido demasiado ruidoso y tartamudo para mi,

Eminently listenable and full of wonderful lines and melodies. There's a tendency for jazz to get too self indulgent, but this straddles the line nicely between the musicians and the listener.

p63. 1963. 1 star. Jazz :( sounds like the soundtrack to a bad late 1950s British gangster film. Technically proficient but... meh.

Not my thing.

Damn close to a 5. Charles Mingus is incredible.

Difficult for focused listening because of the rehearsability of musical syllables (however, not as long as Klaus Schulze's). Also pointless and too complex to listen in the background because of the very essence of the album - experiments with sound searching, the use of instruments atypical for jazz, and oversaturation with an inharmonious avant-garde sound (in some brief moments it even seems more like some kind of "classic noise"). It might be a revolutional album for its time, but it didn't work out for me.

This reminded me why I never listen to pure jazz

Kinda alarming, kinda off-putting. Feel like a scheming villain. The name ‘Mingus’ really matches the vibe but I don’t know why.

Very jazz. All over the place but enjoyable. 5/10

This is widely different. So cool for 1963. I found I could just have it on and enjoy it while doing other things, or I could focus on it completely and hear the little nuances

This is some sexy jazz. I felt like I was a detective in a noir film while listening to this, chasing down that bird who keeps showing up at suspicious times. She's lousy with good looks and she knows it, but she's trouble, probably a running a con. She could get me behind the eight ball. But maybe my life needs a bit of trouble. Maybe my day in, day out at the Club house has ol Nickky two shoes square as a bank man's pocket kerchief. I should take the twist for the two bits she's worth and turn her up. But I'm starting to think I'm dizzy with the dame. Any fella knows you can't turn a choppy into a moll without heartbreak. My pumps been through tough times already.

Wow, that was good! I think it'll become one of my favourites album in jazz. Very interesting.

Just like the other Charles Mingus album I've listened to(as well as any Jazz music), it's fine for background music, but it should stay as just that. Favorite Track: "Mode D – Trio and Group Dancers; Mode E – Single Solos and Group Dance; Mode F – Group and Solo Dance"

I realize I was very harsh on the last jazz album I listened to and I had nothing to say. My goal here is to change that I'm not jazz expert. I don't listen to jazz. I don't like jazz and I know that I didn't appreciate this album for what it is. I had a hard time listening to this. I didn't dislike anything about the album. I just had a hard time concentrating on the music. Maybe that's why people like jazz, it allows your mind to wander. It maybe I'm looking too deep. I listened to the first 3 tracks together and the last one by itself. It was background music while I drive to meet up with a friend and then back home. On the final track, I saw some parallels to mariachi. I think it might have been the trumpets. No, I don't listen to mariachi, but it made me wonder if Mingus might have had Latin influences, or vice versa. At the end of the day, the only thing I can rate an album like this on is subjective. While I have no doubt a lot of talent went into its production (I noted the instrumentalists seemed to know what they were doing, at least on an individual album), I'm not listening to this again.

A tale of two halves. After 3 minutes, I was waiting for it to be done. Those first two sections are, for lack of a better term, awful. I would never subject my ears to that again. But then we get to the last two tracks and it changes significantly. Those weren't just fine, they were genuinely amazing. The 18 minute section might just be my favorite. I have never ran into the problem before. Half the album is bad and the other half is great. What to do what to do. Well, you already know what I did, but I don't. I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

Honestly kind of liked it. Do know much jazz but this was sweet. Chaotic.

Extremely sophisticated noir jazz that makes you feel damn cool.

I really don't know enough about jazz to fully comprehend this album. I really like when the trumpets go wah wah. I can clearly see some interesting choices like the acoustic guitar on track 3. Could grow on me with further Jazz education 3/5

good but...an example of why some jazz is just too far out for me

Not a fan of jazz

Always my favourite jazz musician, and this is by all means his Magnus Opus, the one where everything he was capable of just comes together perfectly. It's got that same kind of epic, complex beauty as Beethoven's symphonies, except it's pure jazz through and through. The first thing that hits you is how ambitious this thing is. Mingus wrote it as one long piece - basically a ballet that runs through four parts like movements in a symphony. He takes you from these incredibly tender, almost heartbreaking moments to these wild, chaotic improvisations where everyone's going mental together. It's like he's showing off everything jazz can do in one album. And then, the emotions in this music. One minute you're feeling this deep sadness that Mingus is pouring out, the next minute the whole band explodes into this joyful madness that makes you want to move. It's intensely personal - you can hear Mingus working through his own demons - but somehow it speaks to everyone. This is an essential album not just for jazz enthusiasts, but for anyone interested in 20th-century artistic achievement. It stands as proof that jazz, at its highest level, can match any art form for emotional depth, and pure creative brilliance.

About as tolerable as a jazz ballet can be. Not my thing in the slightest. At least it isn't too long.

Listened to this album and felt like I was discovering a new language. At first I couldn't appreciate the mix of instruments and rhythms but as released any kind of judgement I felt excited by the surprise of what came next. This is definitely not an album to relax too. High energy and complex.

It’s the black Olive of music. Some people aren’t going to like it and other people are going to say it’s because they have an unsophisticated palette.

Fascinating listen. Some of the most musically complex arrangements I've ever heard. Some of it honestly felt too dense at times. The brass in particular comes through in a very tonally piercing way that makes their highlighted sections less appealing. Definitely feels like an album that requires multiple attentive listens to fully appreciate, but still a lot to love here

Jazz

Pleasant for background music.

Don’t know much about jazz but I do know this album stuck with me. Came back to a lot during this journey.

If jazz is your thing then this is an album to have. I dig it!

Dis good Mingus

Really wanted to like it more that I did. It was ok

MINGUS!!!! Love Charles Mingus and this is some great jazz.

Great

Nice

i wish i had a brain big enough to fully comprehend this

Not my jam, I know this before I even listen based on my disinterest in Jazz. I know the name, it's just not a genre I enjoy or understand. It's chaotic noise, meet in the middle for a minute, and go separate your ways again. I'm not mathematical, I'm not an musician, but I have an ear for music, to appreciate Jazz you have to be both I believe. I went to recording school and all my teachers whether they played rock or country all appreciated Jazz. Being a player helps you understand and This was so horn heavy and in a way I find ugly and cumbersome, throw in the piano that doesn't even go with the song. I got no enjoyment from listening to this, none. 1 star as I'm sure he's a good musician and master of his art, I just hated every minute of it. No hits, no staying power, small listen count for a 60 yr old record and only Jazz aficionados would find this rewarding.

Not familiar with Charles Mingus previously but this is about as jazzy as it gets. Lots going on and I’m sure I will pick up more on subsequent listens. Will be investigating further!

I enjoyed this, although I'm not sure I'm really qualified to review it. It definitely has a weird sound - he's not really trying to make something that sounds super-pleasant. But it's interesting.

Pretty abstract jazz. I appreciate the art form, and also i won’t be returning to this one.

Klassiker muss sofort an Justus :) denken und victoria;(

Absolutely superb

I’d give this 3.5 if I could. I enjoyed it

Spooky and chaotic, big fan

Well played but boring.

Not usual a jazz fan but this slaps

not fun to listen

This is interesting! It’s essentially big band, but they’re playing a cool, smoky style of jazz, which is not at all what I expect from big band. And those smooth melodies often build into big, chaotic climaxes that feel more like free jazz. There are a few other styles that emerge from the smoke before falling back into the noise — I heard a little Spanish guitar a few times. This is a dense album. I enjoyed throwing myself into it, and I’d be curious to listen more and see what else I find in it.

Textures for days. I love how not every instrument needs to be playing a melody all the time, they can weave in and out and create this musical setting. It's a beautiful and timeless sound. Mingus did a lot of good for jazz and for expressive experimental music. I'm forever a fan and this is a solid representation of his sound!

Beautiful and dense. Not for everyone

This was a weird and beautiful musical journey. I see where the Bojack theme was influenced. I've never heard of Charles Mingus before today.

very nice jazz. long long songs

Fantastic! Track C + D make me want to choreography a fairytale ballet.

Jazz. Jazzety jazzy jim jam jazz. Yeah. I, uh, do not understand jazz. I've tried. Many times. Jazzamatazz. Jeepy joopy jazz. Jazz.

vraški dobar džez!

Still hate jazz

I like house, rap, and country music. Not this

I think I prefer more subtler jazz than this. This was loud, and frankly often annoying. Still it had good parts for sure

You like Jazz? Pretty good album. Lots of exciting beats, sounds and styles. Good listen. I'm just not in jazz that much

Legendary album. I always love coming back to this. I forgot how much flamenco is in this album. All the jazz heads I talk to seem to agree this is great, and I can't say the same about some other avante garde jazz albums.

This album was good, very groovy and chill, listening to it while driving made me feel rich

not my fave jazz

Favorite songs: Track B - Duete Solo Dancers, Track A - Solo Dancer Least favorite songs: Medley: Mode D - Trio and Group Dancers/ Mode E - Single Solos and Group Dance/Mode F - Group and Solo Dance 3/5

I love Mingus, but this is a challenging listen.

Not bad

Wow... This is one of the best albums I've heard. Not jazz albums, but in all of music. It's hard to describe it, but this is the closest I've heard to organized chaos, but inside the chaos is pure harmony. You can hear that masters of their instruments had so much fun recording this. This was my first taste of Charles Mingus and I can't wait to hear more... or I'll probably listen to this again many times. An incredible record. 5/5

This started out like such an interesting hybrid of mid-century jazz, orchestra leader jazz, early 20th classical, and world music. But I got frustrated because every time the music got really REALLY interesting, it reverted to a pretty big band motif. Is it bad to say I wish it had gone weirder?

good music

Love the feel of most of this 1960s jazz. Such influential music! One piece, however, sounded to me like a disappointing school orchestra. I'll still give it a 4 though - you've gotta be good and brave to compose music like that!

Goin 5. Feel like I can see the influence of Mingus everywhere I look now.

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.

I really struggled with this album. I'm someone who likes jazz, but this was something else. It was a nightmare of cacophonous noise that rarely met up for anything pleasing. I wanted to like the more melodic moments, but I couldn't enjoy them because they were sandwiched between screeching horns or rhythm players doing their own thing as loudly as possible.

Complex layered melodies, fun to listen to the big band sound but not quite my vibe. Great album but probably wouldn’t listen again.

It wasn’t bad. I didn’t think that I would like it

I liked it. I was surprised because it's jazz, but I think that I like dark jazz or something like that. I could hear the whole album and happily drive through the city listening to it.

mingus

Christ, I hate jazz, and today I learned that avant-garde jazz is even worse than the other kinds. I thought this was sprawling mess of wtf?!? It’s just too crazy, and I really don’t think that avant-garde is my kind of jive. I don’t like it, I don’t want to like it, and I am not going to like it.

dark and stormy, very interesting jazz! I like it.

this album smells like valve oil. no I won't elaborate the textures on this album are fucking crazy, I haven't heard anything like it on a jazz album, or on any album for that matter. Mind blowing from the first note to the end. sad that people on here can't appreciate this cause this might be jazz perfection (I'm not super proficient in the genre so don't take my word on that). SNOO-MINGUS AS USUAL I SEE

Fun, weird, a lot, interesting, classic, but not gonna relisten to it. Album cover is legit sick as hell. THREE!

Whoa, I don't even know where to begin. Not necessarily one for your lazy Sunday mornings.

What unfolds in the six chapters of The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is perhaps the grandest revelation in jazz music. It is here where Mingus orchestrates an executive rendition of the oppressed soul, through antithesising supreme crescendos of wailing saxophone and “ethnic folk-dance”, to Rodrigo-esque guitar work that makes the vast high-tempo payoff unlike anything else. On a crisp January day in 1963, Charlie Mingus and his eight-piece company recorded the benchmark of music to come. For what might be ‘baby’s first’ Mingus, it’s difficult to see how this forty-minute transfixing musical escapade could possibly be any better. It might just be immaculate.

Not my type of music

This album is cool—and it's a grower. Trying to listen to it, preparing for a bike ride, eating a bowl of porridge at 7:30 a.m. was a bit tough; my mind couldn't keep up. But sitting in the garden on a warm evening with a cold beer and the barbecue going, it all clicked. The album is packed with great sounds—from the flamenco guitar and piano to the incredible noise coming from that trombone. You might want to treat it as background music, but it constantly pulls you back in. The performance feels so spontaneous I can’t imagine them playing the same thing twice. This is definitely going on my playlist for when I want to impress people. 4½

Pretty Good, jazz isn't usually on my radar but it was enjoyable

Better than Coldplay

Gotta be in the mood for it but then I dig me some Mingus

An incredible piece of music mixing styles and sounds. Powerful and original, comprising superb musicianship.

*fat* notes. it sounds like someone's talking. pretty cool!

Great album. First time listening to it, but I love the Mingus big band albums. So creative and raw. The arrangements are so interesting and varied. A lot of ideas going on at any given time... some built upon and some just passing thoughts.

3/5 good jazz

Seguramente será disfrutable en un club con un whisky y un cigarro; pero, en casa, el jazz no parece para mí

Turn it up! What a cracker. My cat hated it, he's not known for having the best music taste. Jazz for any time of the day. I will be back. Takes you away, beyond understanding and demands you let go of the steering wheel

Mad music, not really my scene of jazz and overall I felt quite stressed listening to it. Maybe that’s the point. L.A Noire chase scene, reminded me of the betrayal I felt in that game. 3.0/5

Top 3 Jazz albums of all time for me, sounds like psychedelic big band jazz from hell. Feels like you're in a nightmare sequence in a 1940s Disney movie.

not easy but gooood

Like when you say to children you need to keep trying olives because you'll grow to like them, I keep trying Jazz. Still not for me.

Am finding Mingus a tad minging No it’s interesting just hard work in places you’ve got to actually listen

I get it, but after the 2nd track it was a struggle

Street lamps. Rain. Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Lust. Hate. Virtuosity. Cacophony. Beauty. Mental breakdown, vintage style.

Beautiful album, every instrument individually sounds random but they come together so well

Listened Before? N Ehhhhhh.... I'm sure it's a masterpiece but I didn't listen to much of it. I'm getting kind of burnt on experimental jazz doing this list. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Track A

It was a little chaotic for my taste but I can see how talented the artist is through the chaos.

This album is just the epitome of groovy 60's jazz. It makes you feel cooler just listening to it.

Felt like Spongebob, trying to develop a taste for free form jazz. I didn't succeed.

weeell iss okaay 2 mAYBE 3

ive always known i should listen to charles mingus and now i have im glad of it but by the end of that i felt a little on edge

Pretty solid. Lots of different sounds and tempos. Nice Latin vibe happening.

First thought: if you've ever wondered why people used to consider jazz to be lascivious and immoral music, well, this is why. The subtitle for the second track is "Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces," which is a lot of words for a downright horny track that everyone will understand wordlessly. Second thought: and then the pathos sets in, with weighty tunes to explain why all the hedonism was necessary in the first place. Third thought: it all ends with a synthesis, the sex and heaviness and joy all stirred together in a bouillabaisse that feeds and delights. Fourth thought: freedom is freedom is freedom is freedom.

Random noise

As pleasant as it was unpleasant. Nothing in it for me.

It’s jazz idc about jazz

meh, no comments, not for me 2.5/5

ingen lyrics🖕🖕

Big, brash and overall not the sort of jazz I love

Reminds me of an American film where they are driving through New York overnight. The lights and low lifes flashing by and moody. Not really my cup of tea but I can see why others might dig it.

Way too much for what I was doing

Not my cup of tea.

This here is some good thinking man’s jazz. I may not totally get it as I am no thinking man but I enjoyed trying to understand it.

A half dozen or more instruments and artists, each doing their own thing - walking over one another to create a muddied pool of sound with no discernable flow. Occasionally a melody would bubble to the surface as two or three of the musicians came together (or the others stopped playing). But these moments were fleeting as the wall of noise returned. I enjoy some jazz, but I won't listen to this again.

Charles Mingus was known as the “Angry Man of Jazz”, yet he created music with incredible depth of beauty. This album is widely regarded as one of the best jazz compositions ever created, and it took two listens for me to wrap my head around it. I am sure I’ve heard it before, my dad’s side of the family are jazz fanatics and my uncle even plays jazz bass. I did not follow in those footsteps. I turned out a punk, but I still love jazz even though I do not fully understand it. Do we need to fully understand something, or someone, in order to love them? I don’t understand why the transition from “Mode E – Single Solos and Group Dance” to “Mode F – Group and Solo Dance” works, but it does. Mingus was a proponent of collective improvisation and that really shines through on this record. He referred to it as “ethnic folk-dance music” and it really does feel like an improvised piece with dancers from different cultures around the world performing interpretive dance to the music.

7/10

I don't get it. It was just a lot of noise. Would probably have been excellent if they weren't all on top of each other.

Dude... This is one of the coolest albums I've ever listened to. This, of course, is Charles Mingus's legendary 1963 album, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. This is one of the most acclaimed jazz albums ever released, and with me loving similarly beloved albums like Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, I had quite the expectation for a good album, and oh boy did I get that. This is so crazy and awesome and I love it. The compositions here are so full of emotion and talent that I am left speechless by just about every moment. From the speedups and slowdowns on track B to the beautiful guitar part on track C, this album really does represent the best that this wonderful genre has to offer. Despite the energy and chaos of the album, you can still get a sense of emotion and a bit of a story if you think hard enough. There's a sense of beauty in the chaos, and I really love that. I don't know what to say. Would I call this my favorite jazz album ever? Not confidently. It does have the aforementioned competition from Coltrane and Davis. It's up there though. This is a stunning achievement that should absolutely be listened to by everyone, even if you don't click with it initially. I clicked with it though, and I adore this album. 5/5.

Less music, more liquid soul, to be poured out in rations as a cathartic tea else collected into a basin to submerge the psyche. Crestfallen when I realized it was only 4 tracks long.

This album was great. However, I was not the biggest fan of the discordance like I usually am. It was a slightly worse jimmy smith.

"The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" had interesting classical music influence that I have not seen in jazz before, but unfortunately it was still instrumental jazz. It's great for 10 minutes, not for a whole album.

Instrumental jazz makes it tough to give anything above two stars, but this sure was groovy. I just wish there was something more than a standardized tempo for 40 minutes of instrumentation to keep me engaged, but then it wouldn't be instrumental jazz and that's really just my problem.

Good Jazz. Short album appreciate the history lesson. Beyond that it’s not for me. 4.6

Jag har faktiskt gett den chans, en spännande värld att gå in i, men inget för mig.

Nah

Obviously extremely talented, but did nothing for me. I don't think I have much of an appreciation for instrumental jazz personally. There were some beautiful piano moments in here, though.

Appreciate the skill but ends up sounding like noise

Sometimes I think jazz is what happens when a musician knows too much about music. It's an expression of expertise and a force of will. I listen to some pretty niche shit that others wouldn't tolerate. I also love Steely Dan. I get why this stuff exists. I respect it but do not find it enjoyable to listen to.

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady is an album that had a lot going for it but was held back by one simple thing. This album certainly did have a lot of variety for just having 4 songs. There was the typical jazz music, a point where it had that odd stringed instrument (i don't know if its a guitar or not) and even some very Clair De Lune sounding piano parts. I do like a lot of those aspects but the album just needed to do one thing to be great which it did not do, That is GET IT'S CRAP TOGETHER. This album felt like it had barely any composition as there was just sounds everywhere and it could get annoying. It is a shame since this album could have been a 4 star album, it just needed to fix this issue. Best Song: Track C-Group Dancers Worst Song: Track A-Solo Dancer

Still don't get jazz. Can appreciate the snippets but fail to see the overall picture or journey. I feel that I'm open to most things - but this just makes me feel a bit stoopid as I just don't get it.

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

According to Wikipedia, "the album features liner notes written by Mingus and his then-psychotherapist". Also: "Outside of music, Mingus published a mail-order how-to guide in 1954 called The Charles Mingus CAT-alog for Toilet Training Your Cat. The guide explained in detail how to get a cat to use a human toilet". Guess this guy's mind was racing, and that comes across on this album, which is full of ideas, it's highly orchestrated, yet sometimes breaking into more free-form such as 'Track C'. I think it floats around 3/4, but I'm not sure I got enough to tip it. I enjoyed it and would certainly like to come back to it one day.

It's fine.

First spin was a challenge for this square, but the finale to the last track was brilliant, and subsequent spins put this one on track for me. Some great work in here. Not usually a jazz guy, but goddamn if this one didn't grow on me.

Amazing musicianship but I found this VERY stressful to listen to.

Some good jazz, especially the third track. Mid to late 2s

I really wanted to like this more, but it didn't really enthrall me as much as some other jazz albums I've listened to. Maybe a little too avant garde for me?

This is so good. It’s experimental, brooding, emotional. Easy 5.

Très bon, très très bon.

-second time listening to this album and i enjoyed it a lot more. it’s so fascinating and noisy and chaotic, but also really beautiful at times -it would have been so hard for me to appreciate avant-garde jazz up until like a year ago. it’s a crazy experience and i just love it -Favorites are Solo Dancer and Duete Solo Dancers

I don’t really know what to say about this album. The talent level is absolutely there. Some of the songs have very cool and interesting instrumentation. You can feel what it is that Mingus is going for with the different moods. That all being said, I’ll never listen to it again and I only really enjoyed certain parts.

Funky groovy jazz

Another album where there is loads of energy in the tracks. Charles Mingus has a really strong presence in every song and I reckon if you are into jazz it would be pretty special to have watched him live jamming away. I don’t really like the genre though and I know I’m sort of “missing the point” when listening. Overall I found it an ok listen but the final 18 min track was a struggle, each crescendo felt like an attack on my uneducated ears. I’m just too basic so apologies jazz fans.

hmm moody one and album opens on quite a frantic note. Lots of Jazz styles in this as already by track 2 we have a something different softer yet still maintaining the soft turmoil which then evaporates back to frenzied motion. It's a bit like taking all the old smoozy sections of James bond and collating them into one frantic album of action and misogyny. Just without the clues of the visuals it seems a little lost. Clearly some excellent sections but as a concept doesn't quite land for me as a little aggressive for my delicate lobes and mental state!

I'm hit and miss with jazz but the album opener is accessible enough that I could get into it. In "Track B" I was struck by the quality of the recording of the awesome brassy tones, but it did listen more like a soundtrack than a stand-alone piece. I think that sums up the album. Well recorded, cool jazz sounds that sound more like a soundtrack than a finished article. Generally faded into the background as I find with all jazz. Shout-out to the flamenco segment on the B-side though.

I kept wondering when they were going to stop warming up and start playing

First 5-star. I should listen to more jazz.

This had just enough structure to pull me back in every time it went off the rails into chaos. I probably wouldn't seek this out to listen to again, but I can see why it's on the list.

I love jazz! I do not love this album! For me, at least, it's too programmatic/soundtracky. Gimmie some goddamn bop. Gimmie some groove. Take that bass for a walk, for cryin out loud! Nothing about this is sticking with me. 2/5 because they players obviously have massive skill.

I just don’t really have a lot of feelings about jazz

JAZZ. This is pure undiluted jazz.

It’s jazz

Made me feel like I was in a movie

This stressed me out a bit, but was otherwise a fun listen.

I like the Angry jazz man but this was hard to break into. I am glad to have myself pushed rather than another run of the mill punk album.

imagine having mingus as your last name

Sophisticated and reiterative.

I don't listen to much jazz and I def have never heard of Mingus or this album. It's a cute album cover and I like the poem line. Track A: The weird t-t-t-t- sound at the beginning is a little aggressive to me. But that's ok because it soon falls into this mix of nice, full music. B: I enjoyed this because at the beginning it sounded like a beautiful duet but then became this exciting chaos! C: It was fine. I didn't care so much. D: I think this was the best. I really liked the sort of Latin sound at the beginning. But it's way too long. I don't have the attention span for this sort of album. I don't like jazz that much and I definitely like when songs have people singing. So even though I did enjoy listening to this music plenty of the time and I'm sure it's really great for a lot of people, I'd probably never reach for it the same way I've only ever reached for that album from the Bill Evans Trio a couple of times.

J - 2/5 Best Track - "Solo Dancer" F - DNL

Gnöljazz.

This album, although I'm sure it's great was work to listen to. I may just need to grow my appreciation of jazz

Iconic and timeless.

Smooth and nice

I don't really get it. It's definitely music but not something I really enjoyed listening to.

It was an interesting album very different from what I am used to but it grew on me

3/10

Day551 - awesome jazz. needs less tuba

I’ve been Mingus’d