Serious jazz fans cite The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as a monumental album that can be appreciated on multiple levels. Of all Charles Mingus’ works, it will probably endure the longest. From a production standpoint, it was one of the first jazz records to make extensive use of studio overdubs for added texture and colour, even though the eleven musicians who played on it were free to improvise off of Mingus’ demanding score. Among the musicians whom bass player Mingus assembled for this album were Richard Williams on trumpet, Jerome Richardson on flute and baritone saxophone, Booker Ervin on tenor sax, Jaki Byard on piano, and longtime Mingus regulars Dannie Richmond on drums and Charlie Mariano on alto sax, who is arguably the star of the show.

The pieces on this album owe a tremendous debt to Duke Ellington, but as a whole they sound less like a jazz work than a classical tone poem or a modern ballet. The album is a series of dances not unlike Antonin Dvorak’s or Bela Bartok’s folk songs and dances. In fact, Mingus had referred to his collective as a folk band, possibly as a way to signify a break with the traditional jazz output then on the market.

The album appears daunting given the fact that there are two sets of written material designed to aid the listener's experience. Mingus wrote secondary titles for each piece in an attempt to tell a story all by themselves. In addition, the liner notes were partly written by Mingus’ psychologist as a guide to what might have been going through Mingus’ mind as he wrote this work. But if you have difficulty like I do catching the shrink's meaning (I fail to recognize the struggle between races as the album's suggested concept, and reading Mingus' own didactic essay doesn’t help), there is always the music and listeners can provide their own interpretation to it.

I’m not going to try to impart a meaning to every detail of the album, but I thought it would be fun to sit down and spontaneously write a paragraph on each piece as I listen to it. After all, that appears to be the way the liner notes are presented. So here goes.

It was Mingus' intention that the album play as one continuous piece, but the limitations of the LP made that difficult. As a result, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is separated into four parts, with three shorter pieces on Side 1 and three more on the flip side that form a side-long suite.

The first part is entitled “Solo Dancer” with a secondary title of “Stop! Look! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney.” It opens with a drum march followed by a brass-led funeral dirge before moving into more soulful, swinging territory. Mellow and seductive in spots, it reverts back to the theme before ending with Charlie Mariano’s alto sax solo chased by the brass section.

The second part is of the “Duet Solo Dancers,” with a secondary title of “Hearts’ Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces.” It begins with an Ellingtonian piano solo over the orchestra's dreamy, slow-paced melody. The orchestra becomes louder after the first stanza until it drowns out the piano, ending on a minor note after which a baritone sax and a tuba clash with a trombone, trumpet and saxophone. The beat picks up speed, slows down, then picks up speed again in an orgasmic frenzy. By this point, the dancers are panting, and a drum and muted trombone growl out a duet. The other instruments fall in behind a lead trombone in an ebb and flow motion. A return to the opening theme is briefly heard before the part ends, again in a minor key.

The third part highlights the “Group Dancers.” For an alternate title, Mingus wrote “(Soul Fusion) Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom’s Slave Cries.” Like the second part, it also opens with a piano solo, this time performed by Mingus himself. It is interspersed with a belch of brass and later a quick waltz. Then the music shifts gears to feature a flamenco guitar break before erupting into an orgy of sound with flute and saxophone trading riffs against a matador’s drum beat. The music shifts again to a sensuous, swaying groove that grows ever faster until it fades to a lone saxophone blast.

The side-long suite incorporates elements of the three previous pieces. The section “Trio and Group Dancers” begins with the mellow feeling of the first part combined with a lengthy flamenco guitar solo of the Group Dancers. This is followed by a cacophony of instruments playing at various tempos as the dancers come together. Mingus titled this section “Stop! Look! and Sing Songs of Revolutions!” and one wonders if by “revolutions” Mingus meant a political upheaval or a basic definition of spinning around while dancing.

Another piano solo followed by the sensuous group dance as the music carries us to the “Single Solos and Group Dance” section of the suite. For this section, Mingus subtitled it “Saint and Sinner Join in Merriment on Battle Front.” Again, the flamenco guitar representing the Group Dancers enters and is joined by saxophone. The music fades into what I would describe as a bullfight scene, as a mariachi trumpet makes its cry above all the woodwinds and brass.

The finale, “Group and Solo Dances,” takes the slow, swaying movement from the Duet Solo Dancers and plays it faster and faster until it is at near breakneck speed. Then it abruptly slows down only to speed up, slow down, and speed up again. This echoes the third piece, the Group Dances, in concept. Finally, the Solo Dancer’s opening theme returns, followed by the lone saxophone of the Group Dancers as the two parts have bonded. It is a passionate finish to the piece, befitting the subtitle “Of Love, Pain, and Passioned Revolt, then Farewell, my Beloved, ‘til it’s Freedom Day.”

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is not an easy album to get into right away but it is a rich, rewarding album for listeners who exercise patience. Though at times intense, the music works like a strong dance partner whirling you around the room. Give it a few twirls and see what the jazz connoisseurs are talking about.

Recommended: Yes