Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner (1963/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

This 1963 album by legendary bassist/composer Charles Mingus is one easily one of the most impressive and sprawling works in jazz history. The album features the signature pathos of his earlier work—screaming saxophones, a rocking and unpredictable rhythm section, and explosions of harsh dissonance followed by intensely emotional interludes that recall the great Romantic composers. An absolutely essential addition to any music-lover’s library, "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" is a true and unparalleled benchmark of jazz composition and improvisation.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history. Charles Mingus consciously designed the six-part ballet as his magnum opus, and – implied in his famous inclusion of liner notes by his psychologist – it's as much an examination of his own tortured psyche as it is a conceptual piece about love and struggle. It veers between so many emotions that it defies easy encapsulation; for that matter, it can be difficult just to assimilate in the first place. Yet the work soon reveals itself as a masterpiece of rich, multi-layered texture and swirling tonal colors, manipulated with a painter's attention to detail. There are a few stylistic reference points – Ellington, the contemporary avant-garde, several flamenco guitar breaks – but the totality is quite unlike what came before it. Mingus relies heavily on the timbral contrasts between expressively vocal-like muted brass, a rumbling mass of low voices (including tuba and baritone sax), and achingly lyrical upper woodwinds, highlighted by altoist Charlie Mariano. Within that framework, Mingus plays shifting rhythms, moaning dissonances, and multiple lines off one another in the most complex, interlaced fashion he'd ever attempted. Mingus was sometimes pigeonholed as a firebrand, but the personal exorcism of Black Saint deserves the reputation – one needn't be able to follow the story line to hear the suffering, mourning, frustration, and caged fury pouring out of the music. The 11-piece group rehearsed the original score during a Village Vanguard engagement, where Mingus allowed the players to mold the music further; in the studio, however, his exacting perfectionism made The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady the first jazz album to rely on overdubbing technology. The result is one of the high-water marks for avant-garde jazz in the '60s and arguably Mingus' most brilliant moment.

Tracklist:

01 - Track A- Solo Dancer
02 - Track B- Duete Solo Dancers
03 - Track C-Group Dancers
04 - Medley: Mode D-Trio and Group Dancers/Mode E- Single solos and Group Dance/ModeF-Group and Solo Dance

Produced by Bob Thiele. Engineered by Bob Simpson.
Recorded on January 20, 1963 in New York City.



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