Mingus Dynasty
Like its companions in the button-burstingComplete Columbia Recordingsthree-CD set,Mingus Dynastyhas some expanded pleasures. First, there's the band, which reaches to 10 members for half the tunes here. Second, there's the reissue's unique expansions, returning "Slop," "Song with Orange," "Gunslinging Bird," and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" to their full, unedited length for the first time on CD. Columbia had a bad rep for some of the original edits on this andMingus Ah Um, and the restorations give a far fleshier feel to these works, all of them balanced on a seesaw of flesh and brawn. There are downright lovely moments, as on "Diane," and moderately punching swingers, as on "Slop" and the undertow pull of "Gunslinging Bird." Jerome Richardson does wonders on the baritone sax, tugging the ear to the lower realms so Mingus can thumpily shine on his big axe. Of equal importance areJohn Handy, busy here training his alto sax to sound unlike anyone else's, andBooker Ervin, busy here giving the band a Texas tenor sound as wide open, unequivocal, and tonally economical as the dusty prairie.--Andrew Bartlett