Charles Mingus

★★★★ Mingus Three RHINO/PARLOPHONE. CD/DL/LP

The latest centenary reissue puts Mingus front and centre in a trio format.

2022 is Charles Mingus’ centenary and here’s but one of the many releases featuring the work of the bassist-composerpianist-bandleader to come. This 1957 trio date features him with pianist Hampton Hawes and long-time associate and drummer Dannie Richmond. Eight previously unreleased tracks have been added to the original seven. While Mingus’s brawny tone on the bass has never been difficult to discern, the simplicity of three musicians serves to spotlight him. The material ranges from standards (Summertime, I Can’t Get Started) to Mingus originals and one group jam. Jerome Kern’s Yesterdays opens the proceedings and encapsulates what follows: Mingus’s fingers dance and slide around his axe’s neck, while Hawes alternates between splendid classical phrasing and slick and quick blue notes. Richmond’s brushwork swings and holds the track together.