Of all places, Mitch Rowland discovered Charles Mingus' seminal jazz album The Clown at a pizza restaurant. The singer, songwriter, and Harry Styles collaborator was scrolling through his coworkers iPod when the album jumped out at him. On this episode of The Spark Parade, Rowland explains just how instrumental that pizza-adjacent moment was. Listen above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Rowland continues to be mesmerized by classic tracks like "Haitian Fight Song" to this day, with the record as whole remaining a core inspiration for the songwriter's own work. As a fan, he comes back to The Clown often to marvel at its audacious take on jazz playing and song structure.