Charles Mingus
East Coasting
★★★★
BMG/BETHLEHEM. LP
Mingus delivers on lesser-known band session from 1957.
Master bassist/ composer/ bandleader Charles Mingus once said of his trombonist Jimmy Knepper, “He’s all eras on that instrument.” The same can be said of Mingus’s own work, and this rarely heralded sextet session from 1957 is evidence. The title track is straight-ahead bop. The one non-Mingus composition (standard Memories Of You) has the full arrangement of a swing-era big band despite there being only three horns. West Coast Ghost and Conversation contain hints of early New Orleans jazz – the latter includes the horn trio trading layered lines. Classical motifs make subtle appearances (often courtesy of piano great Bill Evans in a rare collaboration with Mingus) and of course the blues are ubiquitous throughout. And as with any Mingus set, his muscular melodicism is instantly recognisable as he holds down the bottom with his bass.