Home » Jazz Musicians » Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from "hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old." He studied double bass and composition in a formal way (five years with H. Rheinshagen, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic, and compositional techniques with the legendary Lloyd Reese) while absorbing vernacular music from the great jazz masters, first-hand. His early professional experience, in the 40's, found him touring with bands like Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton.

Eventually he settled in New York where he played and recorded with the leading musicians of the 1950's— Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington himself. One of the few bassists to do so, Mingus quickly developed as a leader of musicians. He was also an accomplished pianist who could have made a career playing that instrument. By the mid-50's he had formed his own publishing and recording companies to protect and document his growing repertoire of original music. He also founded the "Jazz Workshop," a group which enabled young composers to have their new works performed in concert and on recordings.

Mingus soon found himself at the forefront of the avant-garde. His recordings bear witness to the extraordinarily creative body of work that followed. They include: Pithecanthropus Erectus, The Clown, Tijuana Moods, Mingus Dynasty, Mingus Ah Um, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Cumbia and Jazz Fusion, Let My Children Hear Music. He recorded over a hundred albums and wrote over three hundred scores. Although he wrote his first concert piece, "Half-Mast Inhibition," when he was seventeen years old, it was not recorded until twenty years later by a 22-piece orchestra with Gunther Schuller conducting. It was the presentation of "Revelations" which combined jazz and classical idioms, at the 1955 Brandeis Festival of the Creative Arts, that established him as one of the foremost jazz composers of his day.

In 1971 Mingus was awarded the Slee Chair of Music and spent a semester teaching composition at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In the same year his autobiography, Beneath the Underdog, was published by Knopf. In 1972 it appeared in a Bantam paperback and was reissued after his death, in 1980, by Viking/Penguin and again by Pantheon Books, in 1991. In 1972 he also re-signed with Columbia Records. His music was performed frequently by ballet companies, and Alvin Ailey choreographed an hour program called "The Mingus Dances" during a 1972 collaboration with the Robert Joffrey Ballet Company.

Read more

Tags

14
Album Review

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach: Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings

Read "Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


This is the stuff of legend, one for the ages. It all started here; the greatest jazz concert of all time. How many times has the Massey Hall Concert (Toronto, 1953) been described that way? For the average All About Jazz reader, Massey Hall happened before he or she was born. Besides, there were other famous jazz concerts such as The Carnival of Swing (Randall's Island, NY, 1938), Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert (that remained unreleased until 1958), Gene ...

11
Album Review

Charles Mingus: At Antibes 1960 Revisited

Read "At Antibes 1960 Revisited" reviewed by Mark Corroto


At Antibes could easily be an all-time favorite Charles Mingus recording if he had not produced such extraordinary sessions as Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959), Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (Candid, 1961), The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963) and Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse!, 1964). Listeners can make their own picks, but this live recording from 1960 at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins, France, has a power unique unto itself. One can almost feel the ...

11
Album Review

Charles Mingus: At Antibes 1960 Revisited

Read "At Antibes 1960 Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


Charles Mingus' exhilarating blend of roots and the avant-garde only rarely seems as binary* (see below) as it does on this recording from the 1960 Antibes Jazz Festival. Most often on a Mingus album, you do not hear the joins. This time, on one level, you do. Mingus leads a pianoless quintet completed by Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Ted Curson on trumpet and Dannie Richmond on drums. Bud Powell ...

64
Jazz in Long Form

The Vocal Music of Charles Mingus, Part 2

Read "The Vocal Music of Charles Mingus, Part 2" reviewed by Ellen Johnson


Part 1 | Part 2 Early Years: 1945 to 1953 Charles Mingus demonstrated his prowess as a songwriter even in the early stages of his career. Surprisingly, he started writing songs as early as 1945, a fact that often goes unnoticed. This collection of early vocal compositions includes titles such as “The Texas Hop" (1945), “Baby, Take a Chance with Me" (1945), “Ain't Jivin' Blues" (1946), “Weird Nightmare" (1946), “Pacific Coast Blues" (1948), “Boppin' in Boston" (1949), “I've ...

18
Jazz in Long Form

The Vocal Music of Charles Mingus

Read "The Vocal Music of Charles Mingus" reviewed by Ellen Johnson


Part 1 | Part 2 Part ICharles Mingus is not typically the first name that comes to mind when discussing jazz vocal repertoire, but perhaps it should be. Since the 1940s, Mingus wrote songs in collaboration with other musicians and even penned his own lyrics. His oeuvre encompasses popular songs of the era as well as intricate vocal compositions that rival those of his self-proclaimed mentor, Duke Ellington. Despite their artistic merit, only a few of these pieces ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

Youngsters, Phoenixes, Mingi

Read "Youngsters, Phoenixes, Mingi" reviewed by Patrick Burnette


We look at three 2022 releases this time (albeit one recorded way back in 1972) along with the first harbinger of the new year. There's an electronic sounding long-playing debut by a pair of YouTube wunderkinder (all played in real-time, we promise), a straight-ahead tenor sax trio, another star-studded portfolio album from a rising sax star, and a sprawling live opus from the music's greatest bassist/composer. For a chaser, a sprawl of pop matters that ranges from gospel tunes to ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

Charles Mingus, Luke Stewart-Jarvis Earnshaw Quartet & David Binney

Read "Charles Mingus, Luke Stewart-Jarvis Earnshaw Quartet & David Binney" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


An extended piece (actually they all are) from Charles Mingus' The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott's is a definite highlight this week, as is the new release from bassist Luke Stewart and sitarist Jarvis Earnshaw. David Binney's new Tomorrow's Journey gets some added bounce from a crew of young L.A. hotshots, NY drummer John Sturino chips in with a couple of bangin' tracks, plus music from new releases by bassist Billy Mohler, Day & Taxi, Mark Turner & guitarist Michael ...

Read more articles

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old." He studied double bass and composition in a ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old." He studied double bass and composition in a ...

3

Event

New England Conservatory Celebrates Centennial Of Charles Mingus

New England Conservatory Celebrates Centennial Of Charles Mingus

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory celebrates the centennial of seminal American composer / bassist / bandleader / record label founder / activist / poet Charles Mingus with two concerts featuring NEC’s renowned faculty members and jazz students and a panel discussion. The events are free and open to the public. They take place: Tuesday, April 19Charles Mingus Centennial Panel 1:00 p.m., Pierce Hall NEC faculty member Jason Moran, bass trombonist and Mingus alumnus Earl McIntyre and others discuss Charles Mingus’s life and ...

1

Performance / Tour

The Django Announces April Line-Up Including Charles Mingus Centennial Celebrations

The Django Announces April Line-Up Including Charles Mingus Centennial Celebrations

Source: AMT Public Relations

The Django, downtown Manhattan’s premier jazz club, celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month with a spectacular April line-up. To commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday (April 22, 2022) of iconic jazz composer/bandleader/bassist Charles Mingus (1922-2022), The Django hosts performances by the Grammy Award-winning Mingus Big Band (April 1, April 11, April 18) and Mingus Orchestra (April 25), as well as special concerts led by Mingus band members including Tatum Greenblatt April 2, Jason Marshall Organ Quartet April 7, Boris Kozlov’s ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old." He studied double bass and composition in a ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old." He studied double bass and composition in a ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Jazz Musician of the Day: Charles Mingus

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Charles Mingus' birthday today!

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bassist, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. Born on a military base in Nogales, Arizona in 1922 and raised in Watts, California, his earliest musical influences came from the church— choir and group singing— and from “hearing Duke Ellington over the radio when [he] was eight years old... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day ...

Video / DVD

Charles Mingus: Montreux '75

Charles Mingus: Montreux '75

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

On July 20, 1975, Charles Mingus was in Montreux, Switzerland, to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He was on tour to promote Changes One and Changes Two, a pair of albums recorded for Atlantic in December 1974. They are among the bassist's finest albums of the decade and were his first studio recordings in the States up until that point in the 1970s. For better or worse, a bulk of Mingus's 1970s albums were concert recordings. Now, Eagle Rock ...

2

Recording

Charles Mingus: Changes One

Charles Mingus: Changes One

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of my favorite Charles Mingus albums is Changes One, recorded for Atlantic Records at the tail end of December 1974. There something about the recording that exceeds even Mingus's high composing standards and exotic vision. The album is moody, brooding and reminds me of New York in the mid-1970s more than any other. Yesterday, when I re-listened to the album and heard Remember Rockefeller at Attica, Sue's Changes, Devil's Blues and Duke Ellington's Sound of Love, I was transported ...

Dennis Mitcheltree
saxophone, tenor
Jason Camelio
trombone
John Hines
trombone
Harry Skoler
clarinet
Orhan Demir
guitar
Reggie Watkins
trombone
Avi Granite
guitar
Hungry March Band
band / ensemble / orchestra
The Wrong Object
band / ensemble / orchestra
Kestutis Stanciauskas
bass, electric
Ken Lister
bass, acoustic
Jacopo Ferrazza
bass, acoustic
Michel Delville
guitar, electric
Steven Husted
bass, acoustic
Apostolos Sideris
bass, acoustic
Daphna Sadeh
bass, acoustic
Sal La Rocca
bass, acoustic
Perry Thoorsell
bass, acoustic
Ronaldo Diamante
bass, acoustic
The GroovaLottos
band / ensemble / orchestra
Dorian Wallace
composer / conductor
Ethan Margolis
guitar and vocals
Massimiliano Rolff
bass, acoustic
Walter Areia
bass, acoustic
Nicolas Ojeda
bass, acoustic
Gary Kelly
bass, electric
Abraham Pollack
bass, acoustic
Sue Lynch
saxophone, tenor
Allison Au
saxophone, alto
Toggi Jonsson
bass, acoustic
Steven Faivus
saxophone, alto
Pere Bujosa
bass, acoustic
Roberto Spadoni
composer / conductor
Shuffle Demons
band / ensemble / orchestra
Ally Fiola
saxophone
Boaz Marva
guitar
José Canha
bass, acoustic
Marco Rottoli
bass, acoustic
The Rookies
arranger
Heshima Moja
bass, electric
seth ford-young
bass, acoustic
Jazz Interlude
band / ensemble / orchestra
Illya Gomola
keyboards
Matteo Mosolo
bass, acoustic
Stephen M Kerr
bass, acoustic
Erik Hempel
bass, acoustic
Tibor Debreceni
guitar, electric
Jimmy Layton
keyboards
Tristan Voitcu
saxophone, baritone
Evergreen
guitar, cello
Erlend Albertsen Basspace
band / ensemble / orchestra
Jodi Proznick
bass, acoustic
Hill Collective
band / ensemble / orchestra

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Presents Charles...

Ezz-thetics
2024

buy

At Antibes 1960...

Ezz-thetics
2023

buy

Soho Scene '57: Jazz...

Rhythm & Blues Records
2023

buy

Hot House: The...

Craft Recordings
2023

buy

The Lost Album from...

Resonance Records
2022

buy

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.