How to cover such classic stuff in a typical review space? While Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956) was startling enough, Tijuana Moods went even further in predicting not only aspects of free jazz but world jazz, and it sounds just as fresh as when it was finally issued in 1962. This is the original album with no alternate takes, but it does add the fascinating ‘A Colloquial Dream’ (unreleased until 1997!) with actor and subsequent playwright Elder in the Langston Hughes-influenced voice- and-jazz extravaganza redone a couple of months later as ‘Scenes In The City’. The work of Knepper, Richmond, Hadi and the enigmatic Shaw is brilliant, as is the way Mingus marshals them, and even the relatively more conventional ‘Dizzy Moods’ and ‘Flamingo’ are bursting with original touches. This has to be heard, if you haven’t already. Strange to see the EJC title- credit to producer Hentoff (the notes by one Art Masarini mention that he also produced another Mingus album on United Artists, that’s missing here) but this is certainly his complete Candid output, previously available as four CDs on that label. Therefore, the first CD has the famous Dolphy-Curson- Richmond quartet session including ‘Folk Forms No.1’, ‘What Love’, ‘Stormy Weather’ and the leader’s spoken introductions. If the rest is slightly less awesome, it’s because the larger groups occupying much of CD2 are rather too loosely organised, as is the CD3 session featuring Eldridge with a more mainstream Dolphy, put together by Mingus for the album Newport Rebels. That set’s contributions by Roach and Lincoln (one track each) round out a fascinating and stimulating reissue.