Let My Children Hear Music

Considered by Charles Mingus to be his finest work, 'Let My Children Hear Music' is an ambitious large-ensemble recording that blends Third Stream classicism with the raw, blues-rooted energy of big-band jazz. Working with producer Teo Macero and arrangers like Sy Johnson, Mingus realized a set of dense, cinematic compositions defined by their rich orchestration, intricate structures, and the powerful tension between tightly scored passages and explosive improvisation. The album's adventurous sound is exemplified by sprawling, dynamic pieces such as "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jiveass Slippers" and the orchestral re-imagining of a piano improvisation, "Adagio ma Non Troppo."