All Categories — CDs  

Quite a crazy little record from Charles Mingus! Mingus plays piano and sings (yes, you read that right!) in a tight sextet with Booker Ervin and Roland Kirk on reeds, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone. Mingus is trying out a kind of messed-up, blues-inspired sound here – but for some reason the tracks sort of fall short of their potential, perhaps because they're not infused with the same clarity and anger as his earlier works, or perhaps because Mingus' work on the piano just isn't as fierce as his bass playing. Still, the album's a nice one, and way better than the other Mingus piano album, on Impulse. Titles include "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me", "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am", "Devil Woman", and "Passions Of A Man". Plus the CD includes three bonus tracks "Old Blues For Walt's Torin", "Peggy's Blue Skylight", and "Invisible Lady".