Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music
One of his most under-appreciated albums, Let My Children Hear Music has become one of my favorites. While not as powerful as The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, this album touches on more ideas and more clearly highlights his ability in fusing the classical and jazz genres together. This is particularly seen in the song (although not originally in the LP) "Taurus in the Arena of Life". The song begins with a piano line reminiscent of a Bach invention, and then begins to full-forcedly reflect Mingus' brash jazz style, or maybe it's his angry temperament. "The Chill of Death" is also interesting, with Mingus reciting a spoken word piece about, yes, death. I like it a lot. This album as a whole reflects a very dark side of Charles Mingus, in my opinion.