United States
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Charles Mingus
Nogales, Arizona, United States
Archival Overview
Towering jazz double bassist, composer, and bandleader whose fiercely passionate compositions fused blues, gospel, and third-stream jazz.
Biographical Record
Charles Mingus was an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer, and bandleader widely considered one of the greatest composers in American music history. Fiercely outspoken and passionate, Mingus combined the polyphonic collective improvisation of early New Orleans jazz, Duke Ellington's orchestral richness, and the harmonic freedom of avant-garde bebop.
Nicknamed 'The Angry Man of Jazz' for his uncompromising artistic standards and onstage temper, Mingus produced monumentally ambitious albums such as Mingus Ah Um (1959) and The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963). He was also a pioneer in addressing racial injustice directly through works like 'Fables of Faubus'.
Key Life Milestones
Mingus Ah Um
Released his crowning masterwork on Columbia Records, featuring 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' and 'Better Git It in Your Soul'.
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Released his continuous 6-part ballet-suite, regarded as one of the supreme achievements in jazz orchestration.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialVaranasi, India