Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader.
Music was always considered important in the Mingus family. Growing up in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Mingus was exposed to classical music through the piano and violin lessons of his two older sisters. Mingus's parents bought him a trombone when he was eight years old, but he felt uncomfortable with the instrument and soon took up the cello, which he loved. He switched to the double bass--the instrument on which he would build his reputation--in high school, where his fellow orchestra members included future jazz stars Dexter Gordon and Chico Hamilton. During his late teens Mingus augmented his classroom studies with private lessons; his tutors included jazzmen Joe Comfort and Red Callender, as well as a former bassist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Herman Rheinschagen.
Mingus's activity in the jazz scenes of Los Angeles and San Francisco began even before he graduated from high school. In 1940 he replaced his former teacher, Red Callender, in Lee Young's band; the following year he joined Louis Armstrong's organization, where he remained until 1943. As "Baron Mingus" he led various ensembles of his own, but it was as a member of Lionel Hampton's band that he began to revolutionize jazz bass playing with his highly charged, lightning-fast solos. Economic pressures prompted Mingus to briefly drop music for a job with the U.S. Postal Service until 1950, when vibraphonist Red Norvo invited him to be part of a trio that would also include guitarist Tal Farlow. The Red Norvo trio attracted national attention for introducing the West Coast's "cool jazz" to a wide audience.
In 1951 Mingus relocated to New York City, a hothouse of jazz creativity where he worked regularly with such musicians as Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. In 1953 he joined the band of his idol, Duke Ellington, but when a personality clash between Mingus and another band member led to a violent altercation, Mingus became one of the few musicians ever fired by Ellington. During the mid-1950s Mingus began to mature as a composer, modifying conventional forms by adding the startling rhythmic contrasts that would become his trademark. Some listeners found his music disturbing, but to others it was challenging and stimulating.
Mingus's energy led him to engage in many activities during the late 1950s, in addition to composing and upholding his reputation as one of the greatest soloists of all time. Angered by the unfair treatment meted out to musicians by major recording labels, Mingus established Debut Records in 1952. From 1953 to 1955, Mingus gave written contributions to the Jazz Composers Workshop, but in 1955 he founded his own workshop, based on his belief that written notation was not equal to his composing style.
During the early 1960s Mingus experimented with free-form jazz and also wrote some of his most richly textured, rhythmically complex music, including such pieces as "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" and the album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. His influence on the young bass players of the day was incalculable, but, ironically, he gave up playing bass at this time. Instead he played piano, "on which he resembled a watery Thelonious Monk," according to jazz critic Whitney Balliet in his book Such Sweet Thunder.
Mingus's behavior became increasingly erratic; frequently he ignored contracts, walked offstage early, or spent more time haranguing audiences about their ignorance and inattention than he did playing. Band members were routinely upbraided--even physically attacked--onstage for making mistakes or failing to show the proper attitude. Grappling with deep-seated psychological problems, Mingus dropped out of the music scene in the mid-1960s to concentrate on writing an autobiography. In 1968 he was evicted from his New York City apartment, and much of his written music was lost in that episode.
When Mingus finally returned to music--and the bass--in June, 1969, he was motivated mainly by economic pressures. To his surprise he found himself accorded the status of an elder statesman. His stream-of-consciousness autobiography, Beneath the Underdog, was published in 1971, the same year he received a Guggenheim fellowship for composition. He became a part-time instructor at the State University of New York in Buffalo; wrote music for films; collaborated with singer Joni Mitchell on her tribute recording Mingus; and traveled extensively with his workshop. In 1974 Mingus organized what Leroy Ostransky, author of Understanding Jazz, deemed "the greatest jam session since the expression was coined," which was recorded and released as Mingus at Carnegie Hall.
By the mid-1970s, Mingus was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His once formidable bass technique declined until he could no longer play the instrument. He died at the age of 56 on January 5, 1979
in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he had traveled for treatment and convalescence. His ashes were scattered in the Ganges River. (Edited mainly from musicianguide.com)
Here’s a clip of “So Long Eric” Charles Mingus – Bass, Eric Dolphy - Sax, Bass Clarinet and Flute, Clifford Jordan - Tenor Sax, Jaki Byard – Piano, Dannie Richmond – Drums. Johnny Coles – Trumpet. Norway on April 1964.