Nice obscure set of blues material recorded for United Artists – featuring the little-known Big Miller performing a set of 11 compositions from the pen of Langston Hughes. The backing on here is similar to that of a Jimmy Rushing album from the same time – as it includes arrangements by Budd Johnson, and small group playing by trad-oriented musicians like Chet Amsterdam, Barry Galbraith, Vic Dickenson, Al Cohn, and Jimmy Cleveland. Tracks include "Cool Saturday Night", "Five O'Clock Blues", "Did You Ever Hear The Blues?", "Lament", and "Got To Live". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic album – one of our favorite-ever records from Charles Mingus! The album was recorded in the same breath as his legendary works Tijuana Moods, The Clown, and Pithecanthropus Erectus – and it features the same sort of fire and emotion that made those classics so great. The group alone is amazing – with Horace Parlan on piano, Shafi Hadi on alto and tenor, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and the amazing Clarence (aka Gene) Shaw on trumpet – all getting plenty of room to open up on the album's longer tracks! The work bristles with a sense of imagination and dark energy that Mingus hardly had in his music in later years – and each new tune brings a fresh sense of vision that never fails to astound us! In keeping with the "poetry" title, the album begins with an incredible 12 minute track "Scenes in the City" – which features a long spoken bit written by Langston Hughes about one man's love of jazz and the way that it affects his life in the city – all supported with excellent instrumentation from the group. Other titles are instrumental, and include "Nouroog", "New York Sketchbook", "Slippers", and "Duke's Choice". LP, Vinyl record album