JAMES MINGO LEWIS: Master of Latin Fusion

JAMES MINGO LEWIS: Master of Latin Fusion  by David L Gordon

This article is a requested follow-up to my recent review of Al Di Meola’s record Land Of The Midnight Sun.Sometime in 1972 growing resentments between Carlos Santana and Michael Carabello over (hmmm) lifestyle issues resulted in Carlos’ departure from his own band. Carlos had recently met his wife to be, and was becoming more serious about the type of music he wanted to play. He felt held back by the band’s chaotic democracy and undisiplined approach. On top of that, Coke Escovedo had convinced him that he should take control of the band’s helm, whereas guys like bassist David Brown, and percussionist Carabello thought that the band’s sucess was due to its collaborative nature.

To put it simply, Carlos had met his wife-to-be, and was (in some band member’s minds) “going straight”. Santana actually toured for half a month without him, until of course Carabello and his giant afro were finally kicked out. James Mingo Lewis was hired at the last minute, plucked from the audience as a replacement during a concert in New York City. David Brown left shortly after due to substance abuse problems. This new Santana was to be the tenth version of the band (according to Santana’s website).

Then In January 1972, Mingo, Santana, Neal Schon and Coke Escovedo joined Buddy Miles for a live concert at Hawaii’s Diamond Head Crater, which was eventually released as Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live. It sounds as if it was recorded inside a volcano too. There is even a song called Lava!

 During the studio sessions in may 1972 Mingo, and what was left of Santana, began working on the masterpiece Caravanserai. I was lucky enough to see this band play this music at Maple leaf gardens on Tuesday, February 20, 1973, and I assure you that it was a totally trancendant experience.In the spring of 1973, Corea replaced some of the original members of Return To Forever with rock guitarist Bill Connors from Spiral Staircase, drummer par excellance Mr.Steve Gadd, and young percussionist Mingo Lewis. Chic unveiled the new lineup to little acclaim in New York City at the Bitter End in April. They actually cut an album, and you can listen to 3 of the cuts from the session on the Verve release, Return To The Seventh Galaxy. However, Steve was out when it became clear to Gadd that it wouldn’t be worth-while touring, and Mingo left RTF at about the same time.

Some time later, Mingo Lewis went off to collaborate with Al Di Meola for his first six (and I think best) solo albums. These records sound as much like Mingo albums as they do Al lps. In fact, by the time of Tour De Force Live, Lewis was the only other remaining player from the original solo record, yet the music sounds very similar. Once Mingo was out of Al’s band, Dimeola had, and still has, a completely different sound. Keep in mind that Mingo is also a keyboardist and a fine composer. In fact, he was also one of the first great synthesizer wizards. Lewis’ only solo album Flight Never Ending appears to be a very enjoyable blend of Return to Forever and Santana, but it is all Mingo, and a very progressive sounding record.

There are 8 songs on Flight Never Ending, with 4 of them being over 7 minutes long, and all the tunes are arranged in similar fashion to Return to Forever songs, except they are even wilder and spicier. Mingo not only plays some pretty intense percussion, he composes much of the music and lays down some very groovy and crazy keys. There are 3 keyboard players on Flight Never Ending working synthesizer, piano, organ and clavinet. It is old school jazz fusion at its finest: fast and furious.

It is one of the all-too-few Latin Fusion masterpieces still available today.

The players on Flight Never Ending are:Mingo

Lewis: percussion, synthesizers, congas, clavinet, and vocals
Louis Bramy: percussion, bells, vocals
Mike Kapitan: keyboards
David Logerman: drums
Eric McCann: electric bass
Kincaid Miller: synthesizers, keyboards clavinet
Randy Sellgren: electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Michael Kapitau: organ, synthesizers, piano, drums vocals 

Tags: drums, Fusion, Jazz, Lewis, Mingo, Music, percussion, Santana, synthesizer