Charles Mingus, 22 April 1922 – 5 January 1979, was an American jazz musician, composer, leader, and occasional pianist. Mingus was also well-known for his activism against racial inequality. His legacy is remarkable: Mingus is considered one of the best jazz composers and musicians and has recorded many highly-regarded albums. Many musicians were part of his bands, and many went on to have impressive careers. Because of their unique and melodic nature, his songs are rarely recorded by other musicians. Mingus was also a creative and influential bandleader. He recruited talented, sometimes unknown artists and assembled them into surprising and interesting configurations. Mingus’ sometimes frightful temperament is almost as well-known as his music. This earned him the nickname “The Angriest Man of Jazz.” Mingus’ refusal to compromise his musical integrity led many onstage fireworks. However, it has been suggested that his temper grew out of frustration. Ironically, even a flawless show can cause him to lose his ability to vent frustration by shutting down this outlet. Mingus was often depressed. Mingus was known to experience brief periods of intense creative activity interspersed with long periods of decreased output. Mingus’ music retained the soulful, hot feel of hard beat and drew heavily on black gospel music. He also used elements from Third Stream Jazz and other free jazz. Mingus avoided being categorised and created his own style of music that fuses tradition with new and unexplored areas of jazz. Mingus was a fan of collective improvisation. This is similar to the New Orleans Jazz Parades. He also paid attention to how each member interacted with the whole group. Mingus considered more than just the talents of his musicians when creating his bands. He also took into consideration their personalities. Mingus wanted to create music that could be enjoyed by different musicians. Mingus’ brilliant writing skills for small ensembles and his ability to highlight the strengths of his musicians have earned him the title of “heir apparent” to Duke Ellington. He expressed his admiration for Mingus without reservation. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
