#380 Charles Mingus, 'Mingus Ah Um' (1959)

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The 14th album in 10 years (and first for Columbia Records) from the incredibly prolific Charles Mingus. So far the Jazz albums have been few and far between. Released in 1959,  a couple of months after Miles Davis’s ‘Kinda Blue,’ this album sounds as fresh as ever.

Steeped in references to other artists, there are songs such as ‘Open Letter To Duke,’ a love letter to Duke Ellington, ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,’ in memory of saxophonist, Lester Young, who had died just before this record, and ‘Jelly Roll,’ for Jelly Roll Morton. Elsewhere there’s ‘Fables Of Faubus,’ a protest song against the then governor of Arkansas. I found that as the album progressed, I enjoyed it more and more. Definitely one that needs to be listened to in headphones.

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