Eric Mingus [Christophe Chapenel]

IT is a heavy-duty surname to carry in the jazz world, but Eric Mingus wears it well. He has followed a path that echoes that of his genius father, the legendary bassist/composer Charles Mingus Jr, without slavishly imitating his dad’s journey or aspiring to match his monumental achievements.

Eric can play bass all right, but guitar and vocals are his primary form of expression. He is a poet, producer and political activist (continuing his father’s legacy, who scored points with songs such as Fables of Faubus, a protest against the governor of Arkansas in the 50s who opposed school integration) whose own music draws on blues, jazz, soul, gospel and the experience of growing up black in America, although his spin on it is often more contemporary and experimental than his dad’s.

Like Charles, he brings sly wordplay, a love of improvisation and a wicked sense of humour to live performance. Eric appears for a Q&A and a solo performance at the West Hampstead Arts Club in Mill Lane NW6 on April 13. See https://westhampsteadarts.com/events/

Another storied surname is touring at the moment. Clark Tracey is the son of percussive piano legend Stan Tracey, probably best known for the sublime (and recently re-issued on vinyl by the ReSteamed label run by Clark) Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. Stan was the house pianist at Ronnie Scott’s for most of the 60s – at one gig saxophonist Sonny Rollins turned to the audience and pointed at Stan and asked: “Does anyone here know how good he is?”

Possibly because Stan’s were big shoes to fill, Clark avoided playing the piano and became a very accomplished post-bop drummer in the Art Blakey/Max Roach style.

Like Blakey, he has specialised in nurturing young talent in his bands, as showcased on his latest album Introducing Emily Masser, which features the eponymous young singer tackling jazz standards and singing and scatting with remarkable skill and assurance for a 20-year-old. Or, in fact, for a jazz singer of any age.

Also impressive is the equally youthful sax player Alex Clarke, who again shows admirable maturity, whether swinging hard on So Near So Far, soloing eloquently at the start of The Man I Love or adding bird-like flute to Jobim’s Passarim. It’s easy to hear why bassist James Owston was a finalist in the 2018 BBC Young Jazz Musician Of The Year competition and he offers fluid accompaniment and fine ostinatos.

Tracey is mostly content to provide the power that keeps it all humming, although he also adds very effective vocals and a concise, engaging solo. The album is out now on Strayhorn Records and the quintet play the Pizza Express Soho on May 16 (https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/venues/soho-jazz-club)

Ex-Polar Bear and Loose Tubes saxman Mark Lockheart’s dad wasn’t a famous jazz musician, but a man of immaculate taste responsible for his son’s love of the music – he used to play Duke Ellington at full volume on Sunday mornings to get his son out of bed and, when he was 12, took the boy to see the great man’s orchestra, kick-starting a lifelong fascination with composing and arranging.

Lockheart’s latest project is a 13-piece big band which features a stellar line-up, including fellow horn player Nathaniel Facey, John Parricelli on guitar and Laura Jurd on trumpet. This estimable ensemble plays The Vortex in Dalston to launch Mark’s highly recommended new album, Smiling (Edition Records), on April 6 (https://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/events/).

We have mentioned Jazz at the Parakeet quite often in this column, but Kentish Town’s upmarket boozer is not the only local pub to feature jazz. On recent Wednesdays The Woodman next to Highgate tube has hosted star session guitarist (and Ronnie Scott’s regular) Al Cherry, vocal virtuoso Trudy Kerr with her daughter Lois Gascoyne on double bass (her dad Geoff’s instrument) and Sean Hargreaves on keys, a much in-demand composer who also featured in several other bands at the pub. At the time of writing the line-up for April was not on the website but check https://www.the-woodman.com/news-events/

There is a link between The Woodman and Chaka Khan. She is, of course, curating the Southbank’s Meltdown festival this year – but what is the R&B/soul singer of I’m Every Woman and Ain’t Nobody doing in a jazz column you might well ask?

Well, Ms Khan has some serious, if often hidden, jazz chops. I have before me on my desk an album called Echoes of an Era from 1982, which features a powerhouse band of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Joe Henderson tenor, Chick Corea piano, Stanley Clarke bass and Lenny White on drums. It was an attempt to capture the sound and atmosphere of classic vocal recordings from the 50s. And on those vocals? Chaka Khan, doing a great job (there are a few minor imperfections – but there were no rehearsals, and everything was done in one or two takes, and, as she says in the notes: “The human element comes through.”)

So, what is the connection to The Woodman N10? Well, Australian Trudy Kerr was inspired to switch to singing jazz after hearing Echoes of an Era.

Chaka Khan appears twice (maybe more, who knows?) during Meltdown (June 14-23), celebrating her 50 years in music on June 14 – including no doubt the above hits – and teaming up with the Nu Civilisation Orchestra to recreate her with-strings album ClassiKhan on June 23. The latter record featured some big-boned belters (Goldfinger; (Hey) Big Spender) and jazz standards (Stormy Weather; Round Midnight) and her choices for the rest of the festival often demonstrate her love for the latter style of music, especially with the brace of American female singers who know how to swing in a modern idiom: Lady Blackbird and Judi Jackson, annoyingly both on June 20, at the RFH and QEH respectively. For the full line-up and tickets see: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/meltdown
Chaka Khan also headlines the Love Supreme Festival (July 5-7; https://lovesupremefestival.com) down near Lewes, of which more anon.