I give this one a 10. Great tracks and stellar sound. There are other Mingus albums that I may prefer, but I've never heard any recording that so perfectly displayed Mingus' bass playing skills. It is the reference album if you want to to hear what made Mingus one of the great bass players of all time.
Having said that, you can say similar about each and every musician playing on this masterpiece. Piano, percussion, horns are all impeccable.
There are a couple of times where I would have preferred a sax or trumpet were a bit more balanced between front and rears but that is really being nitpicky.
The vast majority of this album is so well balanced, the ambience added by the quad mix makes it seem you are sitting in a room watching a stage of musicians jamming away.
This album is what quad is supposed to be. I'd give it an 11 if I could.
Having said that, you can say similar about each and every musician playing on this masterpiece. Piano, percussion, horns are all impeccable.
There are a couple of times where I would have preferred a sax or trumpet were a bit more balanced between front and rears but that is really being nitpicky.
The vast majority of this album is so well balanced, the ambience added by the quad mix makes it seem you are sitting in a room watching a stage of musicians jamming away.
This album is what quad is supposed to be. I'd give it an 11 if I could.
