Imogen Ryall Sings The Charles Mingus/Joni Mitchell Songbook

Description

"Mingus," the 1975 album by Joni Mitchell, is the result of a 45-minute meeting arranged by Mingus's wife between Mitchell, who was moving towards a more jazz-oriented style than her previous work, and Charles Mingus. At that time, Mingus was at the end of his life, suffering from a degenerative disease, unable to play, and his wife wanted to engage him in something. Mingus sang the melodies onto a tape recorder, the chords were added by Sy Johnson, and Joni wrote the lyrics and organized the recording sessions. The group featured on the album consists of members of the Weather Report band. Mingus passed away before the project was completed. The album now enjoys cult status, particularly among young jazz musicians. Among them, British singer Imogen Ryall considers "Mingus" to be the cornerstone and springboard of her career. Imogen describes the original album as "a door opener for me." Her album is a heartfelt tribute to these two great musicians whose fleeting collaboration produced an album that challenged critics and listeners of the time. The inspiration that drives her is twofold: that of these two giants of popular music and an eloquent maxim from the 19th-century German novelist: "Music washes away the dust of everyday life from the soul."