The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady.

It was in the 1960’s that the name of Charles Mingus entered my consciousness. In a song by Donovan called Sunny Goodge Street. The lyrics said, ‘Listenin' to sounds of Mingus mellow fantastic, My, my, they sigh’. Then in 1979 Joni Mitchell put lyrics to Charles Mingus compositions on the album Mingus, but I never heard it. I was not ready for jazz just yet. In recent years I have started to show more of an interest. It might be partly due to Van Morrison having a jazz feel to a lot of his music. I want to experience some of the work of the jazz greats. I have albums by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Sidney Bechet and an album by The Mingus Big Band called Blues & Politics, but that was recorded after his death. I looked on the internet to see what the critics rated as Charles Mingus’s greatest work and The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady seemed to be the popular choice, so that is what arrived here a few days ago.

The CD has a nice gatefold sleeve and there is a booklet inside with an 18-page explanation of the music by Mingus. To me, his language reads a bit like Mezz Mezzrow. It is jazz jive talk, but I get what he is saying, I think! Charles also got his psychologist Dr Edmund Pollock who did not know much about music to write a review. It is a good review because although Dr Pollock did not know about the techniques of music, he did know what made Charles Mingus tick, so he understood the emotions behind the music. The album was recorded in one day on January 20^th 1963. Charles’s co-arranger Bob Hammer had the band practice this work night after night during a six week residency at the Village Vanguard club, so by the time they got in the studio they were au-fait with the music. There is an eleven-piece band consisting of trumpets, trombone, tuba, tenor & alto saxophones, flute, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. I expect the band members are all well known to jazz fans, but the only name I recognise and know is Jay Berliner on guitar. He played on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and I have seen him play in Van’s band on a few occasions. I must say after two listens to this album that some of my favourite parts are Jay’s delightful solos on Spanish guitar.

The album is one continuous composition divided into four sections and six movements. It was originally orchestrated with a ballet in mind. I am not sure I understand it very well. I find it very avant-garde and experimental. I think Mingus was trying to push the boundaries of jazz with this work. Maybe, I will get into it after a few more listens. At times it sounds very chaotic to me. If it were a painting, I think it would be something like Guernica by Picasso. I think Mingus is trying to express the emotions of a black person living in a world where white people call the shots. I do not find it easy listening that is for sure. Perhaps I should have ordered one of his earlier albums to introduce myself to his work. Track four probably contains my favourite passages, especially towards the end where it accelerates relentlessly driven by the drums of Danny Richmond and the crazy trumpets of Rolf Ericson and Richard Williams. I will persevere and keep playing it and I will let you know if it grows on me.