October 1, 1971 was the third of five days of recording in New York City for an album of compositions by Charles Mingus that would be released on the Columbia label in February of the following year. The first of the five sessions was on September 23rd and the last was on November 18th. The album that was created was called Let My Children Hear Music and Mingus himself wrote in the liner notes that it was “the best album I have ever made.”

“Let My Children Hear Music” is a big band album and all six of the compositions appearing on the record were written by Mingus. Some of the outstanding musicians that participated in recording include Snooky Young, Jimmy Knepper, James Moody, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Charles McPherson and Roland Hanna.

One reviewer said “Why this recording isn't as well-known as other Mingus masterpieces is a mystery to me. Orchestrated chaos might be a good way to describe the music. At times the power of the band threatens to come apart at the seams, and as with many of Mingus' best works, that the music is like a runaway freight train that somehow manages to make it back to the station.”

Here is a link to a track from the album:

"HOBO HO"