Money Jungle

1959 collaboration between Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. It was essentially Ellington’s project, who wrote all the material (much of it unrecorded elsewhere though some Ellington standards are also featured) and got the bop rhythm section on board - not without some difficulty and a near-walkout on Mingus’s part. The results, however, are stunning, with all three at the top of their game and the group sounding incredibly up-to-date and challenging. The CD reissue uncovered several more tracks that didn’t make it onto the original vinyl, mostly blues jams though there is also a feature for Roach’s drumming.