“Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”

(Theme for Lester Young)

From the album Mingus Ah Um, an elegy for Lester Young, who died two months before the recording session. This performance is from the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival, with Charles Mingus, band leader and bass; Don Pullen, piano; George Adams, tenor saxophone; Gerry Mulligan, baritone saxophone; Benny Bailey, trumpet; and Danny Richmond, drums. This is music of such intellect and feeling, you will understand the meaning in jazz of “dig this.” Dig, deeper and deeper. It doesn’t swing, but man, this is jazz. Man, this is music.

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