The Mingus Big Band: Alex Sipiagin, Alexander Pope Norris, Philip Harper (trumpets); Luis Bonilla (trombone), Robin Eubanks (trombone, vocals); Earl McIntyre (bass trombone, tuba); Wayne Escoffrey (tenor sax), Craig Handy (tenor sax, flute); Sarah Hanahan (alto sax); Mark Gross (alto sax, soprano sax, flute); Lauren Sevian (baritone sax); Theo Hill (piano); Boris Kozlov (double bass); Donald Edwards (drums)
The first of two houses this evening, the second of six nights. Across the week, eleven of twelve performances have sold out in advance. As the house lights went down, Ronnie Scott's was packed to the gunnels. The attraction here on Frith Street? All the way from NYC, the Mingus Big Band!
A huge, not to mention expensive, undertaking, fourteen musicians, plus tour management, flying across the Atlantic, hotel accommodation for the week, Mingus at Ronnie's has become an eagerly anticipated annual occasion. Every chair in the band occupied by an A-lister, the NYC outfit hit the ground running. Wow! Wow! Wow!
The collective power of the ensemble is something to behold/hear. No passengers in this outfit, that's for sure. The sections brimming with talent, in the engine room, 'Mingus' bassist - and MC for the evening - Boris Kozlov, drummer, the impossibly good Donald Edwards, and sitting at the house grand, Theo Hill. Wow! Up against the back wall, an ace trumpet section, Alex Sipiagin knocking out several astounding trumpet solos. In the 'bones, bass 'bone man Earl McIntyre, the sole member of the orchestra who had worked with Mingus! And the frontline horns. Wow! The two tenors - Wayne Escoffrey and Craig Handy - exuded power, baritone anchor Lauren Sevian exuded class and power. And then there was alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan...simply brilliant! Massive sound, blood and guts, lung power like nobody's business. Hearing Ms Hanahan in action, that alone was worth the round trip to London of some 550 miles.
To see, as well as hear, the musicians was a privilege and enlightening. Serious, heavyweight music, indeed. But, it was abundantly clear they were enjoying themselves. Yes, some of the very best in the world enjoying themselves. How marvellous!
Set list included: If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger; Meditations on Integration; Epitaph - Please Don't Come Back from the Moon & Peggy's Blue Skylight; GG Train; Better Git it in Your Soul.
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