Debut Rarities, Vol. 3

If there’s a musician in the world who bears having their workings shown, it’s Mingus. The tracks collected here are all from 1957 — just after Pithecanthropus Erectus had really launched him as a major force, and a couple of years before Mingus Ah Um cemented his status — and it feels like rehearsals. There are multiple takes of things like “Untitled Original Blues” and “Untitled Original Composition,” and they’re often quite strung out, without the density and drive that would mark out his major works. But in fact that works in their favour. It’s like sitting in on speculative conversations between great intellects as they feel their way around ideas. Even if they go over your head, the sense of proximity to genius can be thrilling. And on the two “Untitled Original Composition” takes in particular, the deconstruction of cha-cha-cha rhythms is thrilling in its own right, completely transcending any contemporary jazz style and entering the realm of abstract art. Listening now, it feels hard to process that this is so old: it still sounds wildly futuristic.