The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a studio album by Charles Mingus. It was recorded on January 20, 1963, and released in July of that year by Impulse! Records. The album comprises a single continuous composition—partially written as a ballet—divided into four tracks and six movements. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz records of all time.
Recording
The album was recorded on January 20, 1963 by an eleven-piece band. Mingus has called the album's orchestral style "ethnic folk-dance music", and has been described by critics as blending "jazz and classical but also integrates elements of African music and Spanish themes." The album features liner notes written by Mingus and his then-psychotherapist, Edmund Pollock.
In the book Mingus Speaks, arranger Sy Johnson recollects: "Bob Hammer was very successful at that. He's a piano player, who was around here, in 1962 or something like that, when he did Mingus's masterpiece, as far as I concerned, a brilliant piece of orchestration and brilliant performance of The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady".
Reception
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is among the most acclaimed jazz records of the 20th century. The album is often characterized by jazz and music critics as one of Mingus's two major masterworks (the other being Mingus Ah Um) and has frequently ranked highly on lists of the best albums of all time. Richard Cook and Brian Morton, writers of The Penguin Guide to Jazz, awarded the album a "Crown" token, the publication's highest accolade, in addition to the highest four-star rating.
Track listing
Personnel
;Musicians
- Charles Mingus – double bass, piano, composer
- Jerome Richardson – soprano and baritone saxophone, flute
- Charlie Mariano – alto saxophone
- Dick Hafer – tenor saxophone, flute
- Rolf Ericson – trumpet
- Richard Williams – trumpet
- Quentin Jackson – trombone
- Don Butterfield – tuba, contrabass trombone
- Jaki Byard – piano
- Jay Berliner – Classical guitar
- Dannie Richmond – drums
- Bob Hammer – arranger
;Production
- Bob Thiele – production
- Bob Simpson – engineering
- Bob Ghiraldini – photography (cover and liner photos)
- Joe Lebow – artwork (liner design)