Mingus repertory bands are now such a perennial feature, it takes a moment to refocus on their early days. The 1982 sextet with Williams, Ford and musical director Knepper went into the studio during the same tour that first brought them to the UK (but only to Bradford) while the New York- taped eight-piece band on Mingus’ Sounds Of Love was the last group in which the invaluable Richmond recorded. These well organised sessions compare with the more edgy 2CD 1988 concert in Paris by the 11 -strong ‘Big Band Charlie Mingus’, the highlight of which is a bold if not entirely successful attempt to recreate ‘Black Saint And The Sinner Lady’, with Handy as Charlie Mariano and Knepper as Quentin Jackson. Much of the rest of this concert is more like a blowing session, with Murray fortunately getting only three solos, and the welcome voices of Jordan and Byard offsetting the contrasting styles of Brecker and Faddis. As everywhere in this set, the Mingus music frequently sounds stronger than the actual performances, which is a backhanded compliment to its preparation and organisation by Knepper (who famously declined to participate in the following year’s premiere of Epitaph). Of course, the bass-wielding taskmaster himself isn’t reincarnated, but the material lives on in these versions and others.