Mingus lives. But what lives on in the Mingus Big Band? Is it his music…or his spirit? The right answer is probably both. That the two are inextricably linked, and can’t be separated. That was powerfully demonstrated by the final sequence of the Mingus Big Band’s first set on the first night of their week at Ronnie Scott’s. (see also note*)
The band was in full, boisterous, anarchic flow for the end of its set. “Jump Monk” was a race, the tempo ferocious, illegal, insane. Tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton was squealing, honking, death-staring his way through a solo of immense power. And the best, possibly the only way to top that was to unleash the full force of the band’s three trumpets – Alex Sipiagin, Alexander Pope Norris, Philip Harper – for an immensely energetic contest, one of those public conversations in which vying for who can out-blast and out-weird the others somehow starts to feel like the most natural way of being. Then we had Wayne Escoffery extrovertly MC-ing a vivid round-up of all of the members of the band, and then straight into a final celebratory/ valedictory “Better Git It in Your Soul”.
Perhaps the true strength of this band is the fact that can accommodate such strong – and contrasting – musical personalities. The most obvious place to start is the astonishing trombone section: Conrad Herwig (wonderful solo feature on “Invisible Lady”) and Robin Eubanks, both of whom are stars in their own right, plus the irrepleaceably affable and effusive Earl McIntyre, a genuine Mingus alumnus, on bass trombone and tuba.
The rhythm section has Boris Kozlov on bass- was entrusted with the role of leading the band by Sue Mingus, plus the very great Donald Edwards, originally, audibly, from Louisiana, on drums, and Helen Sung on piano – I haven’t heard quite as concentrated a silence from a Ronnie’s audience as there was for her solo on “The Shoes of the Fishermans Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers” for many years.
The saxes again are a contrasting group too. Lauren Savian on baritone can do everything from wispy and ethereal to re-imagining Ronnie Cuber. Altos Mark Gross from Baltimore and Alex Terrier from France are from totally different musical worlds, and tenors Abraham Burke and Wayne Escoffery are both incredibly strong players.
The full week at Ronnie’s is already sold out. The band will play different sets every night.
(*) Read about how the spirit and the music of Mingus are used in South London to inspire children…1700 of them in a single day (!) – HERE
