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Charles Mingus An Oral Presentation by Emily Watzl Early Life Born in Nogales, AZ on April 22, 1922 Mom only allowed church music at home Despite this, developed an early love for other music, especially Ellington Studied trombone and cello Unable to make a career out of the latter Studied bass with Red Callender in late 30s Didn’t actually start learning until Buddy Collete accepted him into his swing band as the bass player Couldn’t read music quickly enough to join the local youth orchestra Impacted his early musical career, leaving him feeling excluded from the classical music world He eventually picked up double bass in high school Studied with Herman Reinshagen (principal bassist in NY Philharmonic at the time) Studied compositional techniques with Lloyd Reese Began composing in his teen years Quite advanced for his age, incorporating elements of classical music Career Boom Career really took off in the 40s and 50s Played with Barney Bigard Toured with Louis Armstrong Recorded in LA with Russel Jaquet’s band and in Hollywood with Howard McGhee’s band Even played in Ellington’s band for a while in 1953 as a sub Was one of the few musicians personally fired by Ellington, after an on stage fight with Juan Tizol Mingus’ Temper Mingus had quite the temper on him He was a big guy, therefore pretty scary Anger was mostly directed at the audience or band members Jimmy Knepper incident They were working together, Mingus lost it and clocked him in the jaw; knocked out one of Knepper’s crowned teeth, completely ruined his embrochure (took out the top octave of his register. Mingus was charged with Assault Eric Dolphy Incident During a jam session, Mingus punched him in the forehead after blowing a sour note; left a giant lump. Next jam session, Dolphy played so well, Mingus kissed him on the lips afterwards More on his Career Co-founded Debut Records with Max Roach in ‘52 Desire to document unrecorded young musicians, hence the name Based in NYC, like many big names at the time Also worked with an ensemble of 8-10 rotating members Known as the Jazz Workshop (dubbed as Sweatshop by its participants) or his “university” for jazz He trained his musicians to be able to explore and develop their perceptions on the spot Pepper Adams, Booker Ervin, Jimmy Knepper The 50s His most productive period Around 30 records in 10 years 1956, having already put out around 10 albums as a bandleader, was his breakthrough year Pithecanthropus Erectus’ release – arguably his first major work as a bandleader and composer Like Ellington, he wrote with specific musicians in mind The Clown released in 1957 Recorded Mingus Ah Um in 1959 Legendary record, even among Kind of Blue (Davis) and Time Out (Brubeck) Recorded Blues and Roots in 1959 “I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I’ve grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing” Some more works Charles Mingus presents Charles Mingus – 1961 More experimental The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady – 1961 Mingus Plays Piano – 1963 Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus – 1963 Changes One – 1975 Changes Two – 1975 The Inevitable End Musical career slowed down in the late 60s By mid-70s, he had been suffering from ALS Lost most of his bass technique and couldn’t play anymore, but continued composing Died at age 56 Legacy Left Behind Epitaph Discovered after his death 4235 measures, two hours long Premiered in ‘89 by a 30-piece band Mingus Orchestra, Mingus Dynasty, and the Mingus Big Band All managed by Jazz Workshop Inc. and run by his widow, Sue Graham Mingus The Mingus Big Band regularly gigs every Monday night at the Jazz Standard in NYC, and often tours the rest of the US and Europe