The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s by Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus was a rarity in jazz or any other music as a bassist who led the band and composed the material. He was also a creative giant whose recordings are well worth seeking out. Just released, The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s is a triple-CD recorded in 1972 at London’s famed jazz club. Portions of it were intended for release by Columbia Records—before the label abruptly purged all jazz artists from its roster.
As a result, the fidelity is high, recorded by a mobile eight-track studio, not by a fan hiding his microphone behind a highball glass. But audiophilia is less important than the music itself. Playing with esteemed musicians at the end of a European tour, Mingus lays down slippery grooves before hitting a rhythmic pulse beat as the music folds in and out of jazz’s many subgenres. Wild bebop flights subside into improvised blues before refracting the light of old New Orleans. The combo could have turned on a Mercury dime, changing tempo and mood at the behest of the big man behind the big string bass.
The Lost Album’s booklet includes a revealing 1972 interview with Mingus by British jazz critic Brian Priestley (“Bach must be the baddest cat going”) and reflections of their friendship by the always entertaining Fran Lebowitz (“My mother ended up loving Charles because she said he was such a good eater”).
