Charles Mingus was a titan of 20th-century music, an incomparable jazz bassist, composer, and bandleader whose impassioned works reshaped American music. Born on April 22, 1922, in Nogales, Arizona, Mingus was raised in Los Angeles and was a prodigious talent from the start. His formative years were spent honing his skills in the L.A. scene before he ventured to New York, where the vibrant jazz culture would allow him to flourish.

Mingus's career reads like a roadmap through the evolution of modern jazz. He performed with legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker, yet he is most acclaimed for his own groundbreaking work. Mingus channeled the soul of gospel, the freedom of bebop, and the sophistication of classical into a rich tapestry of compositions, celebrated for their emotional depth and complexity. Albums like "Mingus Ah Um" and "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" are considered masterpieces, and Mingus himself is revered not just as a musician but as an advocate for artists' rights and racial justice. His tumultuous life and career continued until his death in 1979, but posthumously, his legacy endures with a stream of releases, including remasters and live recordings that remind us of his undying influence on music and culture.

Genres

Avant-garde Jazz

Bebop

Contemporary Post-bop

Cool Jazz

Electric Bass

Free Jazz

Hard Bop

Jazz

Jazz Double Bass

Related Artists

John Coltrane

Thelonious Monk

Miles Davis

Duke Ellington

Dizzy Gillespie

Art Blakey

Ornette Coleman

Eric Dolphy

Max Roach

Herbie Hancock

Dave Brubeck

Sun Ra

Latest Release

Charles Mingus: A Summer Night

Charles Mingus

Album - 32 Tracks - Released August 2, 2024