Given his nearly four-decade ‘second career’ in Europe, it’s easy to forget how senior Charlie Mariano was, but his centenary this November and the present reissue are potent reminders.

By 1960, he’d already grown up around a Boston scene with the likes of his contemporary Jaki Byard, studied at Berklee before it was Berklee, played on the West Coast and enlivened one of the more swinging Stan Kenton bands. So it’s hardly surprising that he plays with great authority and passion, and was clearly ready for when Mingus came to call in 1962. Logistically, there’s a deliberate ambiguity about the leadership of the quartet here, but this was a gigging group and the newlywed pianist and altoist obviously shared responsibilities. Of the five tracks, they each contribute two originals (Charlie’s two being more modal in orientation), and it’s interesting that Toshiko revisited both her ‘Elegy’ and ‘Long Yellow Road’ on the 1974 debut sessions of her big-band, co-led with second husband Lew Tabackin. She’s due to turn 94 this month and, while here she goes convincingly from bebop to beyond, it has to be said the most striking moment is the soulful playing of both principals on the spiritual ‘Deep River’.