Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah Um

Bassist and composer Charles Mingus channelled the fury of the civil rights movement and the deep roots of gospel church music into this staggering 1959 masterpiece. Better Git It in Your Soul swings with foot-stomping, hollering revivalist fervor, while Goodbye Pork Pie Hat offers a heartbreaking, smoky elegy for Lester Young. The ensemble playing is packed with joyous collective counterpoint and biting satirical humour, proving that modern jazz could be profoundly intellectual and deeply visceral all at once.