Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah Um

Mingus Ah Um is the tenth studio album by the American jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus, released on September 14, 1959 by Columbia Records . The album was recorded by a nine-piece band that included some of Mingus’s most frequent collaborators, such as saxophonists John Handy, Booker Ervin, and Shafi Hadi, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, and pianist Horace Parlan .

The album is a tribute to Mingus’s musical influences and heroes, as well as a reflection of his own musical identity and vision. The album features a diverse and innovative blend of musical genres, such as blues, gospel, swing, bebop, hard bop, and avant-garde jazz, creating a rich and dynamic musical expression . The album also showcases Mingus’s compositional skills and creativity, as he uses complex arrangements, polyrhythms, counterpoint, and improvisation to create a unique and cohesive musical narrative .

The album contains some of Mingus’s most well-known and acclaimed compositions, such as “Better Git It in Your Soul”, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, “Fables of Faubus”, and “Self-Portrait in Three Colors”, which were all inspired by different aspects of Mingus’s personal and cultural background .

Mingus Ah Um was a critical success, receiving positive reviews from critics for its originality, diversity, and quality . The album was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013 . The album has since been regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time by various publications and institutions, such as Rolling Stone magazine, which ranked it number 139 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2020 , and the Library of Congress, which selected it for inclusion in the National Recording Registry in 2003 .