If Mingus Ah Um (see Jazzwise 230) was a summation of what Mingus had achieved thus far, this combination of his first two Atlantic quintets has some extraordinary highlights from that period and an amazing amount of variety. Initially, it seems questionable to place the 1957 album before the ‘bonus’ from 1956, but The Clown ending with its titletrack and being followed by the titletrack of Pithecanthropus somehow illuminates Mingus's different but complementary views on the folly of mankind. Musically, there's so much to celebrate that my available space is insufficient to the task – some of Mingus's innovations include the collective improvs on ‘Pithecanthropus’ and ‘Haitian Fight Song’, the modal sections of several pieces, expressively distorted instrumental tones, and the marriage of music (some of it satirical) and (improvised) speech on ‘The Clown’ itself. But it's not just about innovation, and even more conventional items pack an emotional punch, such as the bittersweet ‘Portrait Of Jackie’ and the mournfully lyrical ‘Reincarnation Of A Lovebird’ (inspired by Charlie Parker). Did I mention how brilliantly the sidemen perform, including both Knepper and Richmond on their Mingus debuts? About the only thing wrong with this whole CD is its credit for Knepper as playing the valve trombone. He's far too expressive for that.