This special edition marks the 50th anniversary of bassist Charles Mingus' 1959 Columbia masterpiece, one of the great records in a year that included Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (Columbia), John ...

NOTE: Most musicologists agree that 1959 was to jazz what 1967 was to rock ‘n’ roll (and, subsequently, music-milestone marketing). For whatever reason, cosmic or otherwise, its heaviest hitters were ...

I was zero when Mingus Ah Um, Charles Mingus’s landmark album, was recorded. Mingus recorded that album in New York over two days in May 1959, on the 5th and 12th (I hit the world four days later; ...

Better Get It in Yo' Soul; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Boogie Stop Shuffle; Self-Portrait in Three Colors; Open Letter to Duke; Bird Calls; Fables of Faubus; Pussy Cat Dues; Jelly Roll. Willie Dennis: ...

The Mingus Big Band rang in 2009 with a rousing and raucous 80-minute set before a sold-out crowd at the Jazz Standard in New York. The Mingus Big Band is a hot band at any time, and on this night, it ...

What was Charles Mingus really like? The jazz bassist and composer, who was born 100 years ago on April 22nd, was “powerful…completely individual…volatile ...

In a musical genre known for its outsiders and nonconformists, bassist-bandleader Charles Mingus cut a larger-than-life figure with his stocky frame, forceful independence, and volcanic temper. He was ...

In 1959, Columbia Records released three discs poised to set the future course of jazz: Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue," Dave Brubeck's "Time Out" and "Mingus Ah Um" by bassist, bandleader and composer ...

There have been great one-off projects this year, such as the “Celebrating Mingus 100” concert at the Philharmonie in Berlin, mainly based on that fully-formed masterpiece, Mingus Ah Um from 1959; a ...

60 years ago this week, bassist Charles Mingus recorded what many consider to be his magnum opus. One of a number of legendary albums produced in 1959, this week we've got the classic 'Mingus Ah Um' ...

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