Disregarding those Baron Mingus 78s he cut in California in the 1940s, these are amongst the first steps Charles Mingus took as a leader. For a period Mingus (in cahoots with Max Roach) recorded and released all his own music on his bespoke Debut label, while his liaisons with Atlantic, Columbia, Candid and Impulse were still in the future. However at this juncture, Mingus was still endeavoring to corral what he assumed to be like-minded musicians prepared to work under his often-dictatorial leadership. The lonely trebly echo on Thad Jones' trumpet and the feisty alto sax and clarinet of the seldom-heard John LaPorta (‘Minor Intrusion’ and ‘Thrice Upon A Theme’) are frequently evocative of those Big City B-Movie soundtracks of the time. But then, so is most of this album with cellist Jackson Wiley and Teo Macero doubling on tenor and baritone saxes stepping up to deliver contributions of varying interest.

As an afterthought Mingus claims that ‘Four Hands’ – which he coauthored with LaPorta – marks his debut as a (frustrated) pianist. So it's an E for effort in anticipation of better results next time!