Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um [Spain Import]

Charles Mingus was at his most joyful, political and personal on Mingus Ah Um, presented here as a limited 180-gram Spain import.

Released in 1959, his first album for Columbia landed in a year already crowded with jazz landmarks, and it more than held its own. Produced by Teo Macero, it gathers a powerhouse band including saxophonists John Handy, Booker Ervin and Shafi Hadi, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, pianist Horace Parlan and drummer Dannie Richmond. Mingus leads from the bass, steering a set that pays tribute to his heroes while staking out territory entirely his own.

Better Git It in Your Soul opens with hand claps and shouts straight out of a gospel revival, a riotous blast of call and response. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, written after the death of Lester Young, is one of the most tender elegies in jazz. Fables of Faubus takes aim at the segregationist governor of Arkansas with sly, lurching satire, while Boogie Stop Shuffle swings so hard it practically leaves the room.

It is a perfect introduction to Mingus and a record seasoned listeners keep coming back to. Every spin turns up something new in the ensemble, a fresh detail in the horns or a sly turn in the rhythm section.