The Complete Birdland Broadcasts 1961-62

• Music

Between October 1961 and October 1962, numerous Charles Mingus performances were broadcast on WADO in New York, featuring the great jazz bassist leading about half a dozen different lineups. This three-CD set features such sterling accompanists as Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef, Booker Ervin, Charles McPherson, Jaki Byard, and Toshiko Ashiyoshi on selections dominated by Mingus compositions, several of which would make it onto his 1962 album Oh Yeah. Also featured are several numbers on which Mingus switches from his customary bass to piano, an instrument on which he was more than competent.