There is gospel and swing and blues in the grooves alongside shouts and yells ...

Charles Mingus's 1959 Columbia sessions were both a summation of...

There is gospel and swing and blues in the grooves alongside shouts and yells ...

Charles Mingus's 1959 Columbia sessions were both a summation of his diverse work up to that point and a bold step forward, for it was the year when at last he had the opportunity to sign with a major label and work with an old friend and musical collaborator, Teo Macero at Columbia Records. There was no stopping this incredible musical mind who'd found his voice as a bassist, composer and bandleader.

The bands that Mingus assembled at Columbia's 30th Street studio in May and November ‘59 consisted of the greatest exponents of his music to date, featuring sidemen Jimmy Knepper, John Handy, Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan and Dannie Richmond. These 1959 sessions, which resulted in MINGUS AH UM and MINGUS DYNASTY, introduced several classics that would become evergreens in the bassist's repertoire and jazz standards for the rest of us: "Better Git It In Your Soul," "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and "Fables Of Faubus." plus homages to jazz greats Ellington ("Open Letter To Duke")-with whom Mingus is most frequently (and fairly) compared for the vastness, depth and diversity of his recordings-and Morton ("Jelly Roll"), jazz's first great composer.

Mingus Ah Um (Legacy Edition) collects on 2 CDs what can be singled out as the definitive Mingus-not only a stand out in perhaps jazz's greatest year but also music that had a seminal influence on jazz and rock thinking in the ‘60s and beyond ... This package offers:

• OVER 2 1/2 HOURS OF MUSIC including MINGUS AH UM and its sequel MINGUS DYNASTY in their entirety plus four bonus tracks from the sessions and three alternate takes

• All of the masters were BEAUTIFULLY REMIXED IN 24 BIT ON A VINTAGE PRESTO ALL-TUBE THREE-TRACK TAPE MACHINE

• Bonus digital booklet with PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN COLUMBIA MEMOS AND CORRESPONDENCE, shedding light on how the recordings were conceived and realized

• ORIGINAL ESSAY by three-time Grammy Award-winning producer-annotator Michael Cuscuna

TRACKLISTING

DISC I
MINGUS AH UM
1. Better Git It In Your Soul (A) (7:22)
2. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (B) (5:43) *
3. Boogie Stop Shuffle (B) (5:00) *
4. Self-Portrait in Three Colors (B) (3:04)
5. Open Letter To Duke (B) (5:50) *
6. Bird Calls (A) (6:19) *
7. Fables Of Faubus (A) (8:12)
8. Pussy Cat Dues (A) (9:15)
9. Jelly Roll (A) (6:15)
MINGUS AH UM BONUS TRACKS
10. Pedal Point Blues (A) (6:27)
11. GG Train (B) (4:38)
12. Girl Of My Dreams (B) (4:08)
MINGUS AH UM ALTERNATE TAKES
13. Bird Calls (alt tk) (A) (4:54)

DISC II
MINGUS AH UM ALTERNATE TAKES cont'd
1. Better Git It In Your Soul (alt tk) (A) (8:06)
2. Jelly Roll (alt tk) (A) (6:41)
MINGUS DYNASTY
3. Slop (D) (6:12) *
4. Diane (C) (7:28)
5. Song With Orange (C) (6:50) *
6. Gunslinging Bird (C) (5:12) *
7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (D) (7:37) *
8. Far Wells, Mill Valley (C) (6:12) *
9. New Now, Know How (C) (4:08)
10. Mood Indigo (D) (8:14)
11. Put Me In That Dungeon (D) (2:52)
MINGUS DYNASTY BONUS TRACK
12. Strollin' (Nostalgia In Times Square) (C) (4:33)

To celebrate this release, Legacy is producing a free, multi-episode podcast featuring jazz luminaries as well as musicians who were influenced by these albums. The series will be available via iTunes as well as http://podcasts.legacyrecordings.com

Charles Mingus's Ah Um: Legacy Edition is available for preorder now from Amazon.