1960 · Album
Blues & Roots
Recorded 1959 · Atlantic Records · Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun
The Deep Well of American Sound
Mingus digs into the blues like he's looking for something that got buried in the soil.
Charles Mingus made Blues & Roots (1959) at a point where he was tired of playing it safe. This isn't a polite record. It's angry and searching, built on the understanding that jazz without blues underneath it is just fancy footwork. The band he brought together—Shafi Hadi on saxophone, Horace Parlan at the piano, Dannie Richmond on drums—these guys understood what Mingus was after. They weren't there to show off; they were there to dig.
What makes this album different from his earlier work is how openly it wears its influences. Tracks like "Moanin'" and "Better Git It in Your Soul" don't apologize for their roots in church music and field hollers. Mingus had always been rooted in that stuff, but here he stops translating it for a jazz audience and just plays it straight. Parlan's piano work has this wounded quality that sits perfectly against the horns. Richmond's drumming is restless, almost dangerous. The whole thing sounds like a conversation that keeps threatening to become an argument.
This isn't Mingus at his most adventurous—that came later. But it might be him at his most honest. If you're new to Mingus, start with The Clown (1957) or Mingus Ah Um (1959) instead; they're more immediately welcoming. But if you've been listening to his music and want to understand where his real power came from, where the anger underneath everything actually lived, this is the album that tells you. It's the sound of a man refusing to forget where he came from.
Who's playing
Charles Mingusdouble bass
Horace Parlanpiano
Mal Waldronpiano
Pepper Adamsbaritone saxophone
Booker Ervintenor saxophone
John Handyalto saxophone
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Willie Dennistrombone
Jimmy Kneppertrombone
Dannie Richmonddrums
Where next?
More by Charles Mingus
Ah Um 1959
Mingus Ah Um 1959
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady 1963
The Black Saint and the Sinner 1963
The musicians on this record
Tippin’ the Scales 1962
Jackie McLean
plays alto saxophone here
plays alto saxophone here
The Freedom Book 1963
Booker Ervin
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Left Alone 1960
Mal Waldron
plays piano here
plays piano here
