Search - Charles Mingus :: Mingus Ah Um

This one is true to Mingus's intent

J. Bartholomew | 09/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"About the artistry of this music, there's nothing I can add other than a ringing endorsement of the other reviewers' comments.



Granted that the digital remastering in the era of this release (1990) leaves A LOT to be desired, this is still the best available CD release. Why? Mingus himself edited these tracks by excising the parts of various tracks that contained weak solo material, and trust me, the results are unerringly right. And this (ditto the 1994 reissue of Mingus Dynasty) retains those edits. You do not want to make the completist's error of assuming that all modifications of the original "just as it happened in the studio" performance equals "bad" and only the unedited version equals "good." Alas, the producer of the 1998 box set felt entitled to overrule Mingus's intent on 10 of the 19 tracks appearing on "Dynasty" and "Ah Um." There have been a number of reissues of the two Columbia sessions since them, and if you compare the time column info, you'll likely confirm that they likewise have the full unedited versions. I am still an admirer of Michael Cuscuna for the great contributions he has made in reissueing important music in this genre, but no one is immune to error. Anyway, enough about the later reissues. Get this version.

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Very good

Heraclitus Junior | 04/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a Jazz expert, so I don't feel quite right giving this album 4 stars since it's so highly rated by the experts. I like it, the tracks are light and easy to listen to. They're also varied and interesting enough to warrant many replays. However, as good as they are, I don't rate them as highly as some of the other works to which I've given 5 stars."