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— The Analog Vault // Essential Listening —

1959 was a watershed year for staggering jazz releases (Kind Of Blue, Giant Steps, The Shape Of Jazz To Come,  Moanin’, and Time Out), but even amongst giants, Charles Mingus’ debut for Columbia stands out. Mingus Ah Um is the breathtaking apotheosis of the bassist’s sizable talent as a composer, improviser and player - and his most accessible entry point for new listeners. Rousing and rambunctious, this magnificent LP is a perfectly sequenced hard bop tribute to Mingus’ musical forebears, with quintessential tracks directly referencing his influences and inspirations (gospel, blues, Lester Young, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and Charlie Parker). He may be nicknamed The Angry Man of Jazz, but Mingus Ah Um is the fiery man at his most playful, and the virtuoso artist at his most musical. - The Analog Vault

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. 

At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions. The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is inspired by Duke Ellington and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. 

It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. — (via Steve Huey // AllMusic)

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Label: Music On Vinyl / Columbia
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Reissued: 2010 / Original: 1959
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Hard Bop
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