The music and attitude of sui generis bassist Charles Mingus is captured by pianist/vocalist Stephanie Nilles on this recent release. What she has done is take the music from Mingus, particularly during the fiery time in his career when he was being evicted from his apartment, and interpret the music and mind of the fiery prophet. Most of the material is solo piano, with Nilles’s style ranging from the splashy stride and bop of Mingus sideman Jackie Byard on the trickling “East Coasting” and “O.P”, but also including the wild wanderings of George Pullen as on the staccato’d strut of “Free Cell Block F, ‘Tis Nazi USA” and the journey of “Remember Rockefeller at Attica”. When she sings, her voice is flexible like a Johnny Coles trumpet as on the bluesy “Fables of Faubus” and she digs deep on “Devil Woman” while “Alabama” has her grabbing you by the throat. You can feel Mingus’ heat on each piece, and the music isn’t imitative of the legendary bassist, but you feel as if the musical torch has been passed on.