Charles Mingus’ 1959 Columbia sessions were both a summation of his diverse work up to that point and a bold step forward, for it was the year when at last he had the opportunity to sign with a major label and work with an old friend and musical collaborator, Teo Macero at Columbia Records.
There was no stopping this incredible musical mind who’d found his voice as a bassist, composer and bandleader. The bands that Mingus assembled at Columbia’s 30th Street studio in May and November of ‘59 consisted of the greatest exponents of his music to date, featuring sidemen Jimmy Knepper, John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan and Dannie Richmond.
These 1959 sessions, which resulted in Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty, introduced several classics that would become evergreens in the bassist’s repertoire and jazz standards including: “Better Git It In Your Soul,” “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “Fables Of Faubus” plus homages to jazz greats Ellington (“Open Letter To Duke”), with whom Mingus is most frequently compared for the vastness, depth and diversity of his recordings, and Morton (“Jelly Roll”), jazz’s first great composer.
Musicians:
- Charles Mingus (bass, piano)
- John Handy (alto & tenor sax, clarinet)
- Booker Ervin (tenor sax)
- Shafi Hadi (tenor & alto sax)
- Willie Dennis (trombone)
- Jimmy Knepper (trombone)
- Horace Parlan (piano)
- Dannie Richmond (drums)