Mingus Ah Um is one of those records to recommend to people that want to get into jazz and don't know what to listen to. I remember when I first discovered this record when I was in High School. It blew me away. Everything about it is off the hook.
Anyway, one of the things on this record that knocked me out was the tenor break which starts the song Open Letter to Duke. Once I found out who this sax player was (Booker Ervin) I went out and bought everything I could find from him. To me, his best albums as a leader feature the rhythm section of Jaki Byard, Richard Davis and Alan Dawson (The Freedom Book and The Space Book, but The Song Book, which replaced Byard with Tommy Flanagan is pretty killing as well.) Also check out Tex Book Tenor, which features Kenny Barron, Woody Shaw, Billy Higgins and a bass player I never heard of named Jan Arnet.
Anyway, one of the things on this record that knocked me out was the tenor break which starts the song Open Letter to Duke. Once I found out who this sax player was (Booker Ervin) I went out and bought everything I could find from him. To me, his best albums as a leader feature the rhythm section of Jaki Byard, Richard Davis and Alan Dawson (The Freedom Book and The Space Book, but The Song Book, which replaced Byard with Tommy Flanagan is pretty killing as well.) Also check out Tex Book Tenor, which features Kenny Barron, Woody Shaw, Billy Higgins and a bass player I never heard of named Jan Arnet.
