Charles Mingus

Featuring: Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard

condition (records/cover): NM / VG+ (ring wear)

Gatefold sleeve.

A double-LP survey drawn from the Prestige holdings, issued in Italy by Fonit Cetra, and a reasonable way into a discography that can be daunting from the outside. Charles Mingus recorded for almost every label that would have him and the results are scattered across dozens of catalogues, so compilations like Portrait served a real function: two records, a broad chronological span, and the essential elements all present - the gospel shouts, the Ellington inheritance, the sudden tempo changes, the bass playing that pulls the whole ensemble around by force.

Italian Fonit Cetra double LP for Prestige. Gatefold, well-presented, and considerably cheaper than assembling the originals.