He was also an innovative bass player who liberated the instrument from a time-keeping role, authenticating it as a viable solo instrument.įrustratingly, perhaps, Mingus’ larger-than-life personality sometimes gets in the way of his music. What can be said with certainty, though, is that Mingus is one of jazz’s greatest composers and gave the genre some of its most memorable tunes. But those seeking clarity won’t find any in his quixotic autobiography, 1971’s Beneath The Underdog, whose blurring of fact and fiction and intermingling of real life with fantasy only serves to thicken the pall of mystique. Thanks for taking the time and let me know what you think.Where the myths end and the truth begins is often difficult to discern when evaluating the extraordinary life of jazz’s notoriously prickly bassist and composer Charles Mingus. Right now there are five compilations, each one focussing on on a major jazz label, so there’s Prestige, Blue Note, Savoy, Riverside and Contemporary for now. Two important notes: 1: there’s absolutely no commercial incentive involved here 2: the podcasts are a hundred percent non stop music, so no talking, jingles or add’s etc. But only if you think that’s appropriate. I thought, if you shared my enthusiasm, they perhaps could be linked somehow to your blogspot. Initially this was a project intended for Izaak, my son, who’s only two years old right now, but I think they’d be quite interesting for any true classic bop and hard bop jazz lovers. (Specifically the recent Roy DuNann piece.) So first of all: thanks for that! Secondly, the reason for me writing you is that I’ve been quite busy organizing my jazz collection and have compiled and uploaded a handful of homemade radio shows on the podcast platform Mixcloud. Hi Steven, You don't know me - and I don't really know you, but I’ve been enjoying your Jazz Profiles blogspot for some time now. "He's a musician, not just a timekeeper, one of the most versatile and creative drummers I've ever heard." Mingus believes the drummer is the most important member of the group and says he'd rather have no drummer at all if Dannie weren't available. Dannie joined the workshop later that winter when the regular drummer left. Mingus says he could tell Dannie was a good musician and just needed more work. One the first number, an up-tempoed Cherokee, he had very little trouble. I bet he'll make those fast tempos." He introduced Mingus to Dannie, and Mingus, noting his careful grooming and nice clothes, was skeptical. At one intermission, after they had played a fast number on which their present drummer couldn't keep up, Lou Donaldson told Mingus, "I've got my home-town buddy here. That summer the jazz workshop was at The Pad in Greenwich Village (later called Lower Basin Street). He left rhythm and blues in 1956 because he felt it was exhibitionism rather than music, and at that time switched to drums. He returned to New York to study tenor sax at the Music Center Conservatory and then went on the road with rhythm-and-blues units like the Clovers, Joe Anderson, and Paul Williams. Dannie Richmond was born in New York 30 years ago, and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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