Epitaph - Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus died in 1979 before he could properly record this massive, 30-piece orchestral work. The album was famously recorded posthumously in 1989, with the arrangements reconstructed and conducted by Mingus scholar Andrew Homzy and music director Gunther Schuller.

"Epitaph" is a massive, sweeping orchestral work that is entirely distinct from his smaller jazz combo albums. It features a 30-piece orchestra performing highly complex, large-scale compositions that span the entirety of Mingus's career.

The legendary jazz composer and historian Gunther Schuller co-led the musical direction for the 1989 posthumous recording and premiere. He worked tirelessly to assemble the scattered parts of Mingus's original, massive handwritten scores into a playable format.

The album consists of multiple distinct compositions, totaling over two hours of complex, orchestrated jazz music. Many of these pieces had never been commercially recorded before the 1989 release.