Mingus, Charles Mingus?


I bought my first LP by Charles Mingus in 1960. I had never heard of Mingus and I was looking for something different. I liked the art work on the LP, Mingus Ah Um/ Charles Mingus, so I bought it. I was rewarded beyond my wildest dreams.
For me, Jazz had become "repetitive"; Mingus was anything but. The very first cut evoked pictures and visions. "Better Git it in Your Soul" created a Baptist prayer meeting where everybody got the "Holy Ghost". The 2nd cut, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", created a vision of a man walking down a deserted city sidewalk in the middle of a black night; just him and the neon signs.
I continued to buy "Mingus Music" until his death, and I was never disapointed. If you try "Mingus Ah Um/ Charles Mingus, you might get "Mingus in your soul".
orpheus10
I too love Mingus. His references to the past, from field hollers to dixieland, and his embrace of latin rhythms, never obscured his desire to create new sounds and to march firmly into the future. At a time when jazz was so terribly serious, Mingus music also showed a gentle and gracious sense of humor. He is sorely missed.

I find much of the same ethos in the music of the, lesser known, Rashaan Roland Kirk. Though Kirks music sounds distinctly different. Different from just about anything, come to think of it.

Viridian, I just finished recording "Theme For the Eulipions" from the LP, "Return of the 5000Lb. Man" by Roland Kirk. I have many LP's by Rashaan Roland Kirk. Even the titles are unique. He was also a Mingus fan
Check out Mingus with Eric Dolphy-Town Hall concert. Brilliant album but Mingus never put out anything short of genius in my opinion!