By Ronan Abayawickrema

The Mingus Big Band had high expectations to live up to with this gig - publicity for the concert had touted them as the 'hippest big band in the universe' and word of their show-stealing performance at the 1999 Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork had spread. If any of this potential pressure worried the band, they didn't show it, launching straight into a firey, dissonant version of Mingus' "Moanin'". They followed this with the first of a number of the composer's political songs played that night, "Fables of Faubus", named for the segregationist Arkansas governor. The Sprituals-style shouting and chanting from the band members at the start and the hints of Dixieland in the ensemble playing recalled African-American musical styles from eras when racisim was officially sanctioned, which was appropriate given the song's title, while trumpeter Philip Harper delivered a suitably caustic solo. The hightlight of the first set, "Haitian Fight Song" had an infectious, bluesy groove and boasted a fine solo from trombonist Conrad Herwig.

In the second set , the blues-saturated "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atom Bomb on Me" raised the roof, featuring everything from vocals to a crowd-pleasing display of circular breathing from tenorist John Stubblefield. The band closed with the joyous "Gunslinging Bird", and then returned to play "O.P.", dedicated to Oscar Pettiford, as the encore. This last number featured tenorist Mark Shim, who has garnered good notices for his part in Blue Note's recent New Directions album, and continued to impress here.

So, did the Mingus Big Band match the hype created by advance publicity and word of mouth? Yes, as the rapturous reception from the Vicar Street audience testified. The band produced an impressive, entertaining peformance, punctuated by a few more thought-provoking moments. Moreover, the experience has sent this writer, who knew relatively little of Charles Mingus' music before the gig, off in search of the original versions of these songs.