It’s always a dangerous task for a bassist to take on the Charles Mingus songbook-should he capture the “spirit” of the tempestuous leader, or simply use the themes as starting points for one’s own concepts? Philion leans toward the former, and does it successfully with a flexible team of Russ Johnson-Victor Garcia/tp, Rajiv Halim/as, Geof Bradfield/ts-bcl-fl, Max Bessesen/ts-as-fl, Norman Palm-Brendan Whalen/tb, Alexis Lombe/p and Dana Hall-dr.
Philion also judiciously mixes the various Mingus moods, getting into the gospel feel with “Better Git It In Your Soul” and having his bass lead the sway on the Pentecostally moaning “Prayer For Passive Resistance”. From there, bebop is never far away, with Halim in an ornithological mood on “”Remember Rockefeller at Antica” and the trombones grooving on “Haitian Fight Song”. The sublime mix of loose swing that borders on chaos is well walked on the tightrope of “Once Upon a Time…” while rich harmonies float on “Self Portrait In Three Colors”. Not imitative, but inspired.