One of the high water marks for avant garde jazz in the 60s. Some may even say that The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady is Mingus' most brilliant effort. The six movement piece, partially written as a ballet, exists as an examination of Mingus' tortured psyche as well as a conceptual piece about love and struggle. The music will take you through an entire life's worth of emotions in ways that only Mingus could. It's a rich, multi-layered mix of textures unlike anything that came before it. Interestingly, the album is the first jazz recording to make use of over dubs. This allowed Mingus, an exacting perfectionist, to fine tune the recordings until they were just how he envisioned them. The result was one of the most acclaimed jazz records ever released.

• music label: Superior Viaduct 2015

reviewed by Cool Hand 05/2015