1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #39. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (1963)

Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (1963)
Label – Impulse
Producer – Bob Thiele
Art Direction – Hollis King
Nationality - USA
Running Time – 39:25

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Solo Dancer
2. Duet Solo Dancers
3. Group Dancers
4. Trio And Group Dancers

So in reading up about this album I read the following line: “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history.” All I can say to that is - what the HELL were they listening to. This record is pure torture to listen to. Just dreadful. You may notice that no tracks are listed as standout tracks as I would not recommend anyone ever subject themselves to listening to ANY of this horrible record.
The liner notes, penned by his psychologist, should be your first clue as to how uneven a work this is. It’s desribed as “Charles Mingus consciously designed six-part ballet, an examination of his own tortured psyche also a conceptual piece about love and struggle.” The only thing that fits the music (and I use the term lightly here) is the word torture. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady the first jazz album to rely on overdubbing technology. Unfortunately that is NOT a good statement. There is so much going on at times it’s hard to distinguish one instrument from another. Just dreadful. One reviewer wrote “Imagine free-jazz, now imagine it mixed with very slow, almost porn/gangster film like music and a dash of flamenco guitar.” Not as interesting as it sounds.
NOT recommended.