American jazz musician, bandleader, composer, genius and legend who elevated bass into a solo melodic instrument. Distinguished and colorful, he was a virtuoso on both piano and bass and the man and his music were considered “surprising and unexpected,” in the words of his widow, Sue Graham Mingus. Mingus’ bands were training camps for jazz players. As a writer, Mingus is often ranked with Duke Ellington and he incorporated European classical techniques with deep-rooted gospel and blues influences.
Mingus was a year old when his family moved to Los Angeles, settling in the Watts area. His mom died when he was an infant and his dad, a retired Army sergeant, remarried soon after. His two older sisters both received musical training, and his later-born stepbrother was a guitarist. When the boy was about six, he was given a trombone, and he and his sisters gave musical recitals at the Methodist church. Mingus joined a high school jazz band, which included such future jazz stars as Buddy Collette, who recommended that Mingus take up the bass. He studied the instrument for five years. At 19, he composed “Half-Mast Inhibition,” an orchestral work thought to be avant-garde even then.
Mingus began his professional career about 1940, first considered a professional within “the circle,” the group of musicians that included Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton. He played with Lee Young from 1941-1943, before the latter joined Louis Armstrong. He spent 1946-1948 with Kid Ory, Alvino Rey and Lionel Hampton, with whom he made his recording debut in a bebop album released in 1947 that included his composition, “Mingus Fingers.” In the late 1940’s, he made the recording “Jazz at Massey Hall” with other jazz greats. After appearing with the Red Norvo trio in 1950-1951, Mingus temporarily quit music, settled in New York City, and went to work for the post office. It was Charlie “Bird” Parker who persuaded him in December 1951 to return to music, and especially to writing.
Mingus appeared with the Billy Taylor trio in 1952-1953. In 1953, he tied for the New Star award in “Down Beat’s” critics’ poll and helped to organize and record an all-star be-bop concert at Massey Hall featuring himself and other artists. In 1952, Mingus and Max Roach had started their own recording company, the now defunct Debut Records. By 1956, he had a greater foundation as a composer. In 1957, he was commissioned by Brandeis University to write a jazz composition, “Revelations,” for its fourth Festival of the Creative Arts.
In the summer of 1960, Mingus, with others, broke away from the Newport (Rhode Island) Jazz Festival in which he’d been scheduled to appear, protesting commercialism and catering to mass tastes. He and the others set up a rival festival at nearby Cliff Walk Manor, and an LP album, “Newport Rebels,” resulted from that effort.
After several years of self-imposed retirement, Mingus appeared at the Village Vanguard in New York City on 17 June 1969, in excellent form. Among Mingus’ most popular albums are “Charles Mingus presents Charles Mingus,” “Mingus Ah Um,” and “Mingus Plays Piano.” His own favorite, recorded in 1957, but not released until 1962, is “Tijuana Moods.”
Early in his career, Mingus appeared in the movies “Road to Zanzibar,” 1941, and “Higher and Higher,” 1943. He later wrote the score for John Cassavetes’ film “Shadows,” 1960. He wrote, with Dave Brubeck, the music for “All Night Long,” a British film about jazz musicians based on “Othello.” In 1968, he was the subject of a documentary, “Mingus.” He has also appeared on television, and his book, “Beneath the Underdog,” was published in May 1971. Raised in an atmosphere of racial bigotry, Mingus was a resentful and angry man who nonetheless, tested as having a genius IQ.
Mingus reportedly was married and divorced three times, and had a total of six kids.
He died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) on 5 January 1979, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Link to Wikipedia biography