Mingus Dynasty is a jazz album by Charles Mingus , recorded in 1959 and released on Columbia Records in May 1960. It is a companion album to his 1959 record Mingus Ah Um , and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The title alludes to Mingus's ancestry, which was partially Chinese.
132-401: Tracks one, three, four, and five were released in their unedited form in 1979 on vinyl and in 1999 on CD. The cuts amount to about eight minutes. All compositions by Charles Mingus except where noted. In 2009 Sony's Legacy Recordings released a special, two-disc 50th anniversary edition of Mingus's seminal 1959 album Mingus Ah Um that also includes Mingus Dynasty in its entirety on
264-481: A Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn , whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn's involvement, Ellington's orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and reached
396-633: A $ 20,000 bass in response to audience heckling at the Five Spot in New York City. Guitarist and singer Jackie Paris was a witness to Mingus's irascibility. Paris recalls his time in the Jazz Workshop: "He chased everybody off the stand except [drummer] Paul Motian and me ... The three of us just wailed on the blues for about an hour and a half before he called the other cats back." On October 12, 1962, Mingus punched Jimmy Knepper in
528-452: A 19-minute all-African-American RKO short in which he played the hero "Duke". He also appeared in the Amos 'n' Andy film Check and Double Check released in 1930, which features the orchestra playing "Old Man Blues" in an extended ballroom scene. That year, Ellington and his Orchestra connected with a whole different audience in a concert with Maurice Chevalier and they also performed at
660-456: A 45% interest in Ellington's future. Mills had an eye for new talent and published compositions by Hoagy Carmichael , Dorothy Fields , and Harold Arlen early in their careers. After recording a handful of acoustic sides during 1924–26, Ellington's signing with Mills allowed him to record prolifically. However, sometimes he recorded different versions of the same tune. Mills regularly took
792-596: A European tour. Dolphy stayed in Europe after the tour ended, and died suddenly in Berlin on June 28, 1964. 1964 was also the year that Mingus met his future wife, Sue Graham Ungaro . The couple were married in 1966 by Allen Ginsberg . Facing financial hardship, Mingus was evicted from his New York home in 1966. Mingus's pace slowed somewhat in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1974, after his 1970 sextet with Charles McPherson, Eddie Preston and Bobby Jones disbanded, he formed
924-445: A Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats" (released on Mingus Dynasty as "Gunslinging Bird"). Mingus married four times. His wives were Jeanne Gross, Lucille (Celia) Germanis, Judy Starkey, and Susan Graham Ungaro . In 1952, Mingus co-founded Debut Records with Max Roach so he could conduct his recording career as he saw fit. The name originated from his desire to document unrecorded young musicians. Despite this,
1056-428: A Song Go Out of My Heart" the following year. Billy Strayhorn , originally hired as a lyricist, began his association with Ellington in 1939. Nicknamed "Sweet Pea" for his mild manner, Strayhorn soon became a vital member of the Ellington organization. Ellington showed great fondness for Strayhorn and never failed to speak glowingly of the man and their collaborative working relationship, "my right arm, my left arm, all
1188-497: A band led by Howard McGhee . He then played with Lionel Hampton 's band in the late 1940s; Hampton performed and recorded several Mingus pieces. A popular trio of Mingus, Red Norvo , and Tal Farlow in 1950 and 1951 received considerable acclaim, but Mingus's race caused problems with some club owners and he left the group. Mingus was briefly a member of Ellington's band in 1953, as a substitute for bassist Wendell Marshall ; however, Mingus's notorious temper led to his being one of
1320-486: A big band, that Ellington was the only rival he would leave Wilson for. He was the orchestra's first regular tenor saxophonist and increased the size of the sax section to five for the first time. Much influenced by Johnny Hodges, he often credited Hodges with showing him "how to play my horn". The two men sat next to each other in the orchestra. Trumpeter Ray Nance joined, replacing Cootie Williams who had defected to Benny Goodman . Additionally, Nance added violin to
1452-506: A brief revival in November of that year. Its subject matter did not make it appealing to Broadway; Ellington had unfulfilled plans to take it there. Despite this disappointment, a Broadway production of Ellington's Beggar's Holiday , his sole book musical, premiered on December 23, 1946, under the direction of Nicholas Ray . The settlement of the first recording ban of 1942–44 , leading to an increase in royalties paid to musicians, had
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#17327978117231584-444: A career spanning three decades and collaborations with other jazz greats such as Duke Ellington , Charlie Parker , Max Roach , and Eric Dolphy . Mingus's work ranged from advanced bebop and avant-garde jazz with small and midsize ensembles to pioneering the post-bop style on seminal recordings like Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956) and Mingus Ah Um (1959) and progressive big band experiments such as The Black Saint and
1716-545: A clarinetist and saxophonist, in Jamaica, Queens. Subsequently, Mingus invited Williams to play at the 1962 Town Hall Concert. Only one misstep occurred in this era: The Town Hall Concert in October 1962, a "live workshop"/recording session. With an ambitious program, the event was plagued with troubles from its inception. Mingus's vision, now known as Epitaph , was finally realized by conductor Gunther Schuller in
1848-650: A co-composer credit. From the beginning of their relationship, Mills arranged recording sessions on nearly every label, including Brunswick , Victor , Columbia , OKeh , Pathé (and its subsidiary, Perfect), the ARC/Plaza group of labels (Oriole, Domino, Jewel, Banner) and their dime-store labels (Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo), Hit of the Week, and Columbia's cheaper labels (Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone, Clarion), labels that gave Ellington popular recognition. On OKeh, his records were usually issued as The Harlem Footwarmers. In contrast,
1980-454: A concert in 1989, a decade after Mingus died. Outside of music, Mingus published a mail-order how-to guide in 1954 called The Charles Mingus CAT-alog for Toilet Training Your Cat . The guide explained in detail how to get a cat to use a human toilet. Sixty years later, in 2014, the late American character actor Reg E. Cathey performed a voice recording of the complete guide for Studio 360 . In 1963, Mingus released The Black Saint and
2112-530: A creative peak. Some years later following a low-profile period, an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals. Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz , in
2244-502: A cross-talk feature with Anderson. Radio exposure helped maintain Ellington's public profile as his orchestra began to tour. The other 78s of this era include: " Mood Indigo " (1930), " Sophisticated Lady " (1933), " Solitude " (1934), and " In a Sentimental Mood " (1935). While Ellington's United States audience remained mainly African-American in this period, the orchestra had a significant following overseas. They traveled to England and Scotland in 1933, as well as France (three concerts at
2376-506: A few Mingus pieces. He had once sung lyrics for one piece, "Invisible Lady", backed by the Mingus Big Band on the album, Tonight at Noon: Three of Four Shades of Love . Epitaph is considered one of Charles Mingus's masterpieces. The composition is 4,235 measures long, requires two hours to perform, and is one of the longest jazz pieces ever written. Epitaph was only completely discovered by musicologist Andrew Homzy during
2508-641: A few months, the young musicians returned to Washington, D.C., feeling discouraged. In June 1923, they played a gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey and another at the prestigious Exclusive Club in Harlem. This was followed in September 1923 by a move to the Hollywood Club (at 49th and Broadway) and a four-year engagement, which gave Ellington a solid artistic base. He was known to play the bugle at
2640-475: A gig of Fate Marable in St Louis. The short-lived Blanton transformed the use of double bass in jazz, allowing it to function as a solo/melodic instrument rather than a rhythm instrument alone. Terminal illness forced him to leave by late 1941 after around two years. Ben Webster's principal tenure with Ellington spanned 1939 to 1943. An ambition of his, he told his previous employer, Teddy Wilson , then leading
2772-410: A group of ten players; they developed their own sound via the non-traditional expression of Ellington's arrangements, the street rhythms of Harlem, and the exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and saxophone blues licks of the band members. For a short time, soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet played with them, reportedly becoming the dominant personality in
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#17327978117232904-457: A love-hate relationship with Parker's legacy. Mingus blamed the Parker mythology for a derivative crop of pretenders to Parker's throne. He was also conflicted and sometimes disgusted by Parker's self-destructive habits and the romanticized lure of drug addiction they offered to other jazz musicians. In response to the many sax players who imitated Parker, Mingus titled a song "If Charlie Parker Were
3036-568: A manuscript collection relating to jazz in the Library's history". Charles Mingus was born in Nogales, Arizona . His father, Charles Mingus Sr., was a sergeant in the U.S. Army . Mingus Jr. was largely raised in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Mingus's ethnic background was complex. His ancestry included German American, African American, and Native American heritage. His maternal grandfather
3168-411: A microphone, chanting "Bud Powell ... Bud Powell ..." as if beseeching Powell's return. Allegedly, Parker continued this incantation for several minutes after Powell's departure, to his own amusement and Mingus's exasperation. Mingus took another microphone and announced to the crowd, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please don't associate me with any of this. This is not jazz. These are sick people." This
3300-402: A new recording contract with Columbia Records which yielded several years of recording stability, mainly under producer Irving Townsend , who coaxed both commercial and artistic productions from Ellington. In 1957, CBS (Columbia Records' parent corporation) aired a live television production of A Drum Is a Woman , an allegorical suite which received mixed reviews. Festival appearances at
3432-482: A performer, Mingus was a pioneer in double bass technique, widely recognized as one of the instrument's most proficient players. Because of his brilliant writing for midsize ensembles, and his catering to and emphasizing the strengths of the musicians in his groups, Mingus is often considered the heir of Duke Ellington, for whom he expressed great admiration and with whom he collaborated on the record Money Jungle . Dizzy Gillespie had once said Mingus reminded him "of
3564-420: A quintet with Richmond, pianist Don Pullen , trumpeter Jack Walrath and saxophonist George Adams . They recorded two well-received albums, Changes One and Changes Two . Mingus also played with Charles McPherson in many of his groups during this time. Cumbia and Jazz Fusion in 1976 sought to blend Colombian music (the " Cumbia " of the title) with more traditional jazz forms. In 1971, Mingus taught for
3696-584: A regular pattern, Ellington's longer works were generally not well received. A partial exception was Jump for Joy , a full-length musical based on themes of African-American identity, which debuted on July 10, 1941, at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors John Garfield and Mickey Rooney invested in the production, and Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles offered to direct. At one performance, Garfield insisted that Herb Jeffries, who
3828-427: A roadhouse combo. Film historians have recognized the score "as a landmark—the first significant Hollywood film music by African Americans comprising non-diegetic music, that is, music whose source is not visible or implied by action in the film, like an on-screen band." The score avoided the cultural stereotypes which previously characterized jazz scores and rejected a strict adherence to visuals in ways that presaged
3960-707: A semester at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York as the Slee Professor of Music. By the mid-1970s, Mingus was feeling the effects of motor neuron disease . His once formidable bass technique declined until he could no longer play the instrument. He continued composing, however, and supervised a number of recordings before his death. At the time of his death, he was working with Joni Mitchell on an album eventually titled Mingus , which included lyrics added by Mitchell to his compositions, including " Goodbye Pork Pie Hat ". The album featured
4092-404: A severe effect on the financial viability of the big bands, including Ellington's Orchestra. His income as a songwriter ultimately subsidized it. Although he always spent lavishly and drew a respectable income from the orchestra's operations, the band's income often just covered expenses. However, in 1943 Ellington asked Webster to leave; the saxophonist's personality made his colleagues anxious and
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4224-416: A sextet including Dannie Richmond , Jaki Byard , Eric Dolphy , trumpeter Johnny Coles , and tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan . The group was recorded frequently during its short existence. Mosaic Records has released a 7-CD set, Charles Mingus – The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964–65 , featuring concerts from Town Hall, Amsterdam, Monterey ’64, Monterey ’65, & Minneapolis). Coles fell ill and left during
4356-593: A short film, featured his extended piece 'A Rhapsody of Negro Life'. It introduced Billie Holiday , and won the Academy Award for Best Musical Short Subject. Ellington and his Orchestra also appeared in the features Murder at the Vanities and Belle of the Nineties (both 1934). For agent Mills, the attention was a publicity triumph, as Ellington was now internationally known. On the band's tour through
4488-604: A short-lived 1933–34 switch to Victor when Irving Mills temporarily moved his acts from Brunswick). As the Depression worsened, the recording industry was in crisis, dropping over 90% of its artists by 1933. Ivie Anderson was hired as the Ellington Orchestra's featured vocalist in 1931. She is the vocalist on " It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) " (1932) among other recordings. Sonny Greer had been providing occasional vocals and continued to do in
4620-595: A specific instrumentalist, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges , "Yearning for Love" for Lawrence Brown , "Trumpet in Spades" for Rex Stewart , " Echoes of Harlem " for Cootie Williams and "Clarinet Lament" for Barney Bigard . In 1937, Ellington returned to the Cotton Club, which had relocated to the mid-town Theater District . In the summer of that year, his father died, and due to many expenses, Ellington's finances were tight. However, his situation improved in
4752-530: A ten-year period, he made 30 records for a number of labels ( Atlantic , Candid , Columbia , Impulse and others). Mingus had already recorded around ten albums as a bandleader, but 1956 was a breakthrough year for him, with the release of Pithecanthropus Erectus , arguably his first major work as both a bandleader and composer. Like Ellington, Mingus wrote songs with specific musicians in mind, and his band for Erectus included adventurous musicians: piano player Mal Waldron , alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and
4884-579: A thousand brass and make a dramatic gesture and every studio arranger can nod his head and say, Oh, yes, that's done like this. But Duke merely lifts his finger, three horns make a sound, and I don't know what it is!" However, by 1955, after three years of recording for Capitol , Ellington lacked a regular recording affiliation. Ellington's appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 7, 1956, returned him to wider prominence. The feature " Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue " comprised two tunes that had been in
5016-801: A worldwide sensation and gave both Ellington and Hall their first hit record. Miley had composed most of " Creole Love Call " and " Black and Tan Fantasy ". An alcoholic, Miley had to leave the band before they gained wider fame. He died in 1932 at the age of 29, but he was an important influence on Cootie Williams , who replaced him. In 1929, the Cotton Club Orchestra appeared on stage for several months in Florenz Ziegfeld 's Show Girl, along with vaudeville stars Jimmy Durante , Eddie Foy, Jr. , Ruby Keeler , and with music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Gus Kahn . Will Vodery , Ziegfeld's musical supervisor, recommended Ellington for
5148-488: A year of standout masterpieces, including Dave Brubeck 's Time Out , Miles Davis 's Kind of Blue , John Coltrane 's Giant Steps , and Ornette Coleman 's The Shape of Jazz to Come , this was a major achievement, featuring such classic Mingus compositions as " Goodbye Pork Pie Hat " (an elegy to Lester Young ) and the vocal-less version of "Fables of Faubus" (a protest against segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus that features double-time sections). In 2003
5280-505: A young Duke", citing their shared "organizational genius". Nearly as well known as his ambitious music was Mingus's often fearsome temperament, which earned him the nickname "the Angry Man of Jazz". His refusal to compromise his musical integrity led to many onstage eruptions, exhortations to musicians, and dismissals. Although respected for his musical talents, Mingus was sometimes feared for his occasionally violent onstage temper, which
5412-525: A youth phenomenon, particularly with white college audiences, and danceability drove record sales and bookings. Jukeboxes proliferated nationwide, spreading the gospel of swing. Ellington's band could certainly swing, but their strengths were mood, nuance, and richness of composition, hence his statement "jazz is music, the swing is business". From 1936, Ellington began to make recordings with smaller groups (sextets, octets, and nonets) drawn from his then-15-man orchestra. He composed pieces intended to feature
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5544-614: Is available on NPR . Hal Leonard published the complete score in 2008. Mingus wrote the sprawling, exaggerated, quasi-autobiography, Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus , throughout the 1960s, and it was published in 1971. Its " stream of consciousness " style covered several aspects of his life that had previously been off-record. In addition to his musical and intellectual proliferation, Mingus goes into great detail about his perhaps overstated sexual exploits. He claims to have had more than 31 affairs in
5676-407: Is often regarded as Mingus rising to the challenging new standard established by Coleman. The quartet recorded on both Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus and Mingus . The former also features the version of " Fables of Faubus " with lyrics, aptly titled "Original Faubus Fables". In 1961, Mingus spent time staying at the house of his mother's sister (Louise) and her husband, Fess Williams ,
5808-474: The Roseland Ballroom , "America's foremost ballroom". Australian-born composer Percy Grainger was an early admirer and supporter. He wrote, "The three greatest composers who ever lived are Bach , Delius and Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, Bach is dead, Delius is very ill but we are happy to have with us today The Duke". Ellington's first period at the Cotton Club concluded in 1931. Ellington led
5940-726: The Salle Pleyel in Paris) and the Netherlands before returning to New York. On June 12, 1933, the Duke Ellington Orchestra gave its British debut at the London Palladium ; Ellington received an ovation when he walked on stage. They were one of 13 acts on the bill and were restricted to eight short numbers; the booking lasted until June 24. The British visit saw Ellington win praise from members of
6072-504: The Sonny Rollins -influenced tenor of J. R. Monterose . The title song is a ten-minute tone poem , depicting the rise of man from his hominid roots ( Pithecanthropus erectus ) to an eventual downfall. A section of the piece was free improvisation , free of structure or theme. Another album from this period, The Clown (1957, also on Atlantic Records ), the title track of which features narration by humorist Jean Shepherd ,
6204-442: The diatonic scale , with the consequent alteration of the harmonic character of his music, it's broadening, The deepening of his resources. It has become customary to ascribe the classical influences upon Duke— Delius , Debussy , and Ravel —to direct contact with their music. Actually, his serious appreciation of those and other modern composers, came after he met with Vody. Ellington's film work began with Black and Tan (1929),
6336-640: The segregated society of the day. When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington left his successful career in D.C. and moved to Harlem , ultimately becoming part of the Harlem Renaissance . New dance crazes such as the Charleston emerged in Harlem, as well as African-American musical theater , including Eubie Blake 's and Noble Sissle 's (the latter of whom
6468-625: The Arts made possible the cataloging of Mingus compositions, which were then donated to the Music Division of the New York Public Library for public use. In 1993, The Library of Congress acquired Mingus's collected papers—including scores, sound recordings, correspondence and photos—in what they described as "the most important acquisition of a manuscript collection relating to jazz in the Library's history". Considering
6600-529: The Brunswicks were usually issued as The Jungle Band. Whoopee Makers and the Ten BlackBerries were other pseudonyms. In September 1927, King Oliver turned down a regular booking for his group as the house band at Harlem's Cotton Club ; the offer passed to Ellington after Jimmy McHugh suggested him and Mills arranged an audition. Ellington had to increase from a six to 11-piece group to meet
6732-687: The Sinner Lady (1963). Mingus's compositions continue to be played by contemporary musicians ranging from the repertory bands Mingus Big Band , Mingus Dynasty , and Mingus Orchestra to high school students who play the charts and compete in the Charles Mingus High School Competition. In 1993, the Library of Congress acquired Mingus's collected papers—including scores, sound recordings, correspondence and photos—in what it called "the most important acquisition of
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#17327978117236864-540: The Sinner Lady , described as "one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history." The album was also unique in that Mingus asked his psychotherapist, Dr. Edmund Pollock, to provide notes for the record. Mingus also released Mingus Plays Piano , an unaccompanied album featuring some fully improvised pieces, in 1963. In addition, 1963 saw the release of Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus , an album praised by critic Nat Hentoff . In 1964, Mingus put together one of his best-known groups,
6996-695: The album's legacy was cemented when it was inducted into the National Recording Registry . Also during 1959, Mingus recorded the album Blues & Roots , which was released the following year. Mingus said in his liner notes: "I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing." Mingus witnessed Ornette Coleman 's legendary—and controversial—1960 appearances at New York City's Five Spot jazz club. He initially expressed rather mixed feelings for Coleman's innovative music: "... if
7128-416: The band's book since 1937. Ellington, who had abruptly ended the band's scheduled set because of the late arrival of four key players, called the two tunes as the time was approaching midnight. Announcing that the two pieces would be separated by an interlude played by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves , Ellington proceeded to lead the band through the two pieces, with Gonsalves' 27-chorus marathon solo whipping
7260-517: The best-known recording the company issued was of the most prominent figures in bebop. On May 15, 1953, Mingus joined Dizzy Gillespie , Parker, Bud Powell , and Roach for a concert at Massey Hall in Toronto, which is the last recorded documentation of Gillespie and Parker playing together. After the event, Mingus chose to overdub his barely audible bass part back in New York; the original version
7392-531: The cataloging process after Mingus's death. With the help of a grant from the Ford Foundation , the score and instrumental parts were copied, and the piece itself was premiered by a 30-piece orchestra, conducted by Gunther Schuller . This concert was produced by Mingus's widow, Sue Graham Mingus, at Alice Tully Hall on June 3, 1989, 10 years after Mingus's death. It was performed again at several concerts in 2007. The performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall
7524-812: The cello technique he learned was applicable to double bass when he took up the instrument in high school. He studied for five years with Herman Reinshagen, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic , and compositional techniques with Lloyd Reese. Throughout much of his career, he played a bass made in 1927 by the German maker Ernst Heinrich Roth . Mingus was already writing relatively advanced musical pieces in his teenage years; many are similar to Third Stream in that they incorporate elements of classical music. A number of pieces were recorded in 1960 with conductor Gunther Schuller , and released as Pre-Bird , referring to Charlie "Bird" Parker ; Mingus
7656-470: The constant repetition of the ongoing, deep, intense mode of study, a kind of study wherein the aesthetic forms created could not be severed from the intellectual practice because they were one and also, but not, the same." Gunther Schuller has suggested that Mingus should be ranked among the most important American composers, jazz or otherwise. In 1988, a grant from the National Endowment for
7788-402: The cost of hiring big bands had increased, club owners now found smaller jazz groups more cost-effective. Some of Ellington's new works, such as the wordless vocal feature "Transblucency" (1946) with Kay Davis , were not going to have a similar reach as the newly emerging stars. Ellington continued on his own course through these tectonic shifts. While Count Basie , like many other big bands at
7920-420: The course of his life (including 26 prostitutes in one sitting). This does not include any of his five wives (he claims to have been married to two of them simultaneously). In addition, he asserts that he held a brief career as a pimp . This has never been confirmed. Mingus's autobiography also serves as an insight into his psyche, as well as his attitudes about race and society. It includes accounts of abuse at
8052-484: The crowd into a frenzy, leading the Maestro to play way beyond the curfew time despite urgent pleas from festival organizer George Wein to bring the program to an end. The concert made international headlines, and led to one of only five Time magazine cover stories dedicated to a jazz musician, and resulted in an album produced by George Avakian that would become the best-selling LP of Ellington's career. Much of
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#17327978117238184-555: The dualistic, categorical distinction of sacred from profane through otherwise epistemologies. Crawley offers a reading of Mingus that examines the deep imbrication uniting Holiness – Pentecostal aesthetic practices and jazz. Mingus recognized the importance and impact of the midweek gathering of black folks at the Holiness – Pentecostal Church at 79th and Watts in Los Angeles that he would attend with his stepmother or his friend Britt Woodman. Crawley goes on to argue that these visits were
8316-895: The end of each performance. The group was initially called Elmer Snowden and his Black Sox Orchestra and had seven members, including trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley . They renamed themselves The Washingtonians. Snowden left the group in early 1924, and Ellington took over as bandleader. After a fire, the club was re-opened as the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the Kentucky Club). Ellington then made eight records in 1924, receiving composing credit on three including "Choo Choo". In 1925, Ellington contributed four songs to Chocolate Kiddies starring Lottie Gee and Adelaide Hall , an all–African-American revue which introduced European audiences to African-American styles and performers. Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra grew to
8448-414: The era's Jim Crow laws. At the age of seven, Ellington began taking piano lessons from Marietta Clinkscales. Daisy surrounded her son with dignified women to reinforce his manners and teach him elegance. His childhood friends noticed that his casual, offhand manner and dapper dress gave him the bearing of a young nobleman, so they began calling him "Duke". Ellington credited his friend Edgar McEntee for
8580-400: The eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine". Strayhorn, with his training in classical music, not only contributed his original lyrics and music but also arranged and polished many of Ellington's works, becoming a second Ellington or "Duke's doppelgänger". It was not uncommon for Strayhorn to fill in for Duke, whether in conducting or rehearsing the band, playing
8712-458: The few musicians personally fired by Ellington ( Bubber Miley and drummer Bobby Durham are among the others) after a backstage fight between Mingus and Juan Tizol . Also in the early 1950s, before attaining commercial recognition as a bandleader, Mingus played gigs with Charlie Parker , whose compositions and improvisations greatly inspired and influenced him. Mingus considered Parker the greatest genius and innovator in jazz history, but he had
8844-461: The finest live jazz recordings. One story has it that Mingus was involved in a notorious incident while playing a 1955 club date billed as a "reunion" with Parker, Powell, and Roach. Powell, who suffered from alcoholism and mental illness (possibly exacerbated by a severe police beating and electroshock treatments), had to be helped from the stage, unable to play or speak coherently. As Powell's incapacitation became apparent, Parker stood in one spot at
8976-506: The five-year period following the death of Eric Dolphy . In 1966, Mingus was evicted from his apartment at 5 Great Jones Street in New York City for nonpayment of rent, captured in the 1968 documentary film Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 , directed by Thomas Reichman. The film also features Mingus performing in clubs and in the apartment, firing a .410 shotgun indoors, composing at the piano, playing with and taking care of his young daughter Carolyn, and discussing love, art, politics, and
9108-514: The following years. After leaving agent Irving Mills, he signed on with the William Morris Agency . Mills, though, continued to record Ellington. After only a year, his Master and Variety labels (the small groups had recorded for the latter) collapsed in late 1937. Mills placed Ellington back on Brunswick and those small group units on Vocalion through to 1940. Well-known sides continued to be recorded, " Caravan " in 1937, and "I Let
9240-429: The free-form guys could play the same tune twice, then I would say they were playing something ... Most of the time they use their fingers on the saxophone and they don't even know what's going to come out. They're experimenting." That same year, however, Mingus formed a quartet with Richmond, trumpeter Ted Curson and multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy . This ensemble featured the same instruments as Coleman's quartet, and
9372-456: The group, with Sonny Greer saying Bechet "fitted out the band like a glove". His presence resulted in friction with Miley and trombonist Charlie Irvis , whose styles differed from Bechet's New Orleans-influenced playing. It was mainly Bechet's unreliability—he was absent for three days in succession—which made his association with Ellington short-lived. In October 1926, Ellington made an agreement with agent-publisher Irving Mills , giving Mills
9504-412: The hands of his father from an early age, being bullied as a child, his removal from a white musician's union, and grappling with disapproval while married to white women and other examples of hardship and prejudice. The work of Charles Mingus has also received attention in academia. According to Ashon Crawley, the musicianship of Charles Mingus provides a salient example of the power of music to unsettle
9636-440: The impetus for the song "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting". Emphasis is placed on the ethical demand of the prayer meeting felt and experienced that, according to Crawley, Mingus attempts to capture. In many ways, "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" was Mingus's homage to black sociality. By exploring Mingus's homage to black Pentecostal aesthetics, Crawley expounds on how Mingus figured out that those Holiness – Pentecostal gatherings were
9768-438: The instrumental colors Ellington had at his disposal. Recordings exist of Nance's first concert date on November 7, 1940, at Fargo, North Dakota . Privately made by Jack Towers and Dick Burris, these recordings were first legitimately issued in 1978 as Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live ; they are among the earliest of innumerable live performances which survive. Nance was an occasional vocalist as well, although Herb Jeffries
9900-406: The lyrics were written by Dorothy Fields (later Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler ), with some Ellington originals mixed in. (Here, he moved in with a dancer, his second wife Mildred Dixon ). Weekly radio broadcasts from the club gave Ellington national exposure. At the same time, Ellington also recorded Fields-JMcHugh and Fats Waller – Andy Razaf songs. Although trumpeter Bubber Miley was a member of
10032-597: The mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem . A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards . He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol 's " Caravan ", which brought
10164-489: The most recordings. The song has been covered by both jazz and non-jazz artists, such as Jeff Beck , Andy Summers , Eugene Chadbourne , and Bert Jansch and John Renbourn with and without Pentangle . Joni Mitchell sang a version with lyrics that she wrote for it. Elvis Costello has recorded "Hora Decubitus" (from Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus ) on My Flame Burns Blue (2006). "Better Git It in Your Soul"
10296-565: The mouth while the two men were working together at Mingus's apartment on a score for his upcoming concert at the Town Hall in New York, and Knepper refused to take on more work. Mingus's blow broke off a crowned tooth and its underlying stub. According to Knepper, this ruined his embouchure and resulted in the permanent loss of the top octave of his range on the trombone – a significant handicap for any professional trombonist. This attack temporarily ended their working relationship, and Knepper
10428-571: The music for a stage production by Orson Welles . Titled Time Runs in Paris and An Evening With Orson Welles in Frankfurt , the variety show also featured a newly discovered Eartha Kitt , who performed Ellington's original song "Hungry Little Trouble" as Helen of Troy . In 1951, Ellington suffered a significant loss of personnel: Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and, most importantly, Johnny Hodges left to pursue other ventures. However, only Greer
10560-460: The music on the LP was, in effect, simulated, with only about 40% actually from the concert itself. According to Avakian, Ellington was dissatisfied with aspects of the performance and felt the musicians had been under-rehearsed. The band assembled the next day to re-record several numbers with the addition of the faked sound of a crowd, none of which was disclosed to purchasers of the album. Not until 1999
10692-664: The music school he had hoped to create. Charles Mingus's music is currently being performed and reinterpreted by the Mingus Big Band , which in October 2008 began playing every Monday at Jazz Standard in New York City, and often tours the rest of the U.S. and Europe. The Mingus Big Band, the Mingus Orchestra, and the Mingus Dynasty band are managed by Jazz Workshop, Inc. and run by Mingus's widow, Sue Graham Mingus. Elvis Costello has written lyrics for
10824-404: The musicians) included Pepper Adams , Jaki Byard , Booker Ervin , John Handy , Jimmy Knepper , Charles McPherson , and Horace Parlan . Mingus shaped these musicians into a cohesive improvisational machine that in many ways anticipated free jazz . Some musicians dubbed the workshop a "university" for jazz. The 1950s are generally regarded as Mingus's most productive and fertile period. Over
10956-480: The new Monterey Jazz Festival and elsewhere provided venues for live exposure, and a European tour in 1958 was well received. Such Sweet Thunder (1957), based on Shakespeare's plays and characters, and The Queen's Suite (1958), dedicated to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II , were products of the renewed impetus which the Newport appearance helped to create. However, the latter work was not commercially issued at
11088-478: The nickname: "I think he felt that in order for me to be eligible for his constant companionship, I should have a title. So he called me Duke." Though Ellington took piano lessons, he was more interested in baseball. " President [Theodore] Roosevelt would come on his horse sometimes, and "stop and watch us play," he recalled. Ellington went to Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C. His first job
11220-527: The number of compositions that Charles Mingus wrote, his works have not been recorded as often as comparable jazz composers. The only Mingus tribute albums recorded during his lifetime were baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams 's album, Pepper Adams Plays the Compositions of Charlie Mingus , in 1963, and Joni Mitchell 's album Mingus , in 1979. Of all his works, his elegy for Lester Young , " Goodbye Pork Pie Hat " (from Mingus Ah Um ) has probably had
11352-402: The occasion. He also had a messenger job with the U.S. Navy and State departments, where he made a wide range of contacts. Ellington moved out of his parents' home and bought his own as he became a successful pianist. At first, he played in other ensembles, and in late 1917 formed his first group, "The Duke's Serenaders" ("Colored Syncopators", his telephone directory advertising proclaimed). He
11484-452: The old New Orleans jazz parades, paying particular attention to how each band member interacted with the group as a whole. In creating his bands, he looked not only at the skills of the available musicians, but also their personalities. Many musicians passed through his bands and later went on to impressive careers. He recruited talented and sometimes little-known artists, whom he utilized to assemble unconventional instrumental configurations. As
11616-401: The opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld , "the most significant composer of the genre", Ellington himself embraced the phrase "beyond category", considering it a liberating principle, and referring to his music as part of the more general category of American Music. Ellington was known for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, as well as for his eloquence and charisma. He
11748-669: The orchestra by conducting from the keyboard using piano cues and visual gestures; very rarely did he conduct using a baton. By 1932 his orchestra consisted of six brass instruments, four reeds, and a rhythm section of four players. As the leader, Ellington was not a strict disciplinarian; he maintained control of his orchestra with a combination of charm, humor, flattery, and astute psychology. A complex, private person, he revealed his feelings to only his closest intimates. He effectively used his public persona to deflect attention away from himself. Ellington signed exclusively to Brunswick in 1932 and stayed with them through to late 1936 (albeit with
11880-528: The orchestra for only a short period, he had a major influence on Ellington's sound. As an early exponent of growl trumpet, Miley changed the sweet dance band sound of the group to one that was hotter, which contemporaries termed Jungle Style, which can be seen in his feature chorus in East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (1926). In October 1927, Ellington and his Orchestra recorded several compositions with Adelaide Hall . One side in particular, " Creole Love Call ", became
12012-513: The orchestra. " Cotton Tail ", "Main Stem", " Harlem Air Shaft ", "Jack the Bear", and dozens of others date from this period. Strayhorn's " Take the "A" Train ", a hit in 1941, became the band's theme, replacing " East St. Louis Toodle-Oo ". Ellington and his associates wrote for an orchestra of distinctive voices displaying tremendous creativity. The commercial recordings from this era were re-issued in
12144-402: The piano, on stage, and in the recording studio. The decade ended with a very successful European tour in 1939 just as World War II loomed in Europe. Two musicians who joined Ellington at this time created a sensation in their own right, Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster . Blanton was effectively hired on the spot in late October 1939, before Ellington was aware of his name, when he dropped in on
12276-456: The requirements of the Cotton Club's management for the audition, and the engagement finally began on December 4. With a weekly radio broadcast, the Cotton Club's exclusively white and wealthy clientele poured in nightly to see them. At the Cotton Club, Ellington's group performed all the music for the revues, which mixed comedy, dance numbers, vaudeville, burlesque, music, and illicit alcohol . The musical numbers were composed by Jimmy McHugh and
12408-417: The saxophonist was regularly in conflict with the leader. Musicians enlisting in the military and travel restrictions made touring difficult for the big bands, and dancing became subject to a new tax, which continued for many years, affecting the choices of club owners. By the time World War II ended, the focus of popular music was shifting towards singing crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford . As
12540-431: The second disc. This 1950s jazz album-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist , composer , bandleader , pianist , and author . A major proponent of collective improvisation , he is considered one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history, with
12672-400: The segregated South in 1934, they avoided some of the traveling difficulties of African Americans by touring in private railcars. These provided accessible accommodations, dining, and storage for equipment while avoiding the indignities of segregated facilities. However, the competition intensified as swing bands like Benny Goodman 's began to receive widespread attention. Swing dancing became
12804-624: The serious music community, including composer Constant Lambert , which gave a boost to Ellington's interest in composing longer works. His longer pieces had already begun to appear. Ellington had composed and recorded "Creole Rhapsody" as early as 1931 (issued as both sides of a 12" record for Victor and both sides of a 10" record for Brunswick). A tribute to his mother, "Reminiscing in Tempo", took four 10" 78rpm record sides to record in 1935 after her death in that year. Symphony in Black (also 1935),
12936-427: The show. According to John Edward Hasse's Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington , "Perhaps during the run of Show Girl , Ellington received what he later termed 'valuable lessons in orchestration from Will Vody." In his 1946 biography, Duke Ellington , Barry Ulanov wrote: From Vodery, as he (Ellington) says himself, he drew his chromatic convictions, his uses of the tones ordinarily extraneous to
13068-494: The stipulation that he be the band's bass player. Due to a poor education, the young Mingus could not read musical notation quickly enough to join the local youth orchestra. This had a serious impact on his early musical experiences, leaving him feeling ostracized from the classical music world. These early experiences, in addition to his lifelong confrontations with racism, were reflected in his music, which often focused on themes of racism, discrimination and (in)justice. Much of
13200-561: The summer of 1914, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café, Ellington wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag " (also known as the "Poodle Dog Rag"). He created the piece by ear, as he had not yet learned to read and write music. "I would play the 'Soda Fountain Rag' as a one-step , two-step , waltz , tango , and fox trot ", Ellington recalled. "Listeners never knew it
13332-450: The summer. He would sometimes hear strange music played by those who could not afford much sheet music, so for variations, they played the sheets upside down. Henry Lee Grant, a Dunbar High School music teacher, gave him private lessons in harmony . With the additional guidance of Washington pianist and band leader Oliver "Doc" Perry, Ellington learned to read sheet music , project a professional style, and improve his technique. Ellington
13464-739: The talents of Wayne Shorter , Herbie Hancock , and another influential bassist and composer, Jaco Pastorius . Mingus died on January 5, 1979, aged 56, in Cuernavaca , Mexico , where he had traveled for treatment and convalescence. His ashes were scattered in the Ganges River . His compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop , drawing heavily from black gospel music and blues , while sometimes containing elements of third stream , free jazz , and classical music . He once cited Duke Ellington and church as his main influences. Mingus espoused collective improvisation, similar to
13596-512: The three-CD collection, Never No Lament , in 2003. Ellington's long-term aim, though, was to extend the jazz form from that three-minute limit, of which he was an acknowledged master. While he had composed and recorded some extended pieces before, such works now became a regular feature of Ellington's output. In this, he was helped by Strayhorn, who had enjoyed a more thorough training in the forms associated with classical music than Ellington. The first of these, Black, Brown, and Beige (1943),
13728-538: The time, it was nearly impossible for a black musician to make a career of classical music, and the cello was not accepted as a jazz instrument. Despite this, Mingus was still attached to the cello; as he studied bass with Red Callender in the late 1930s, Callender even commented that the cello was still Mingus's main instrument. In Beneath the Underdog , Mingus states that he did not actually start learning bass until Buddy Collette accepted him into his swing band under
13860-553: The time, was forced to disband his whole ensemble and work as an octet for a time, Ellington was able to tour most of Western Europe between April 6 and June 30, 1950, with the orchestra playing 74 dates over 77 days. During the tour, according to Sonny Greer, Ellington did not perform the newer works. However, Ellington's extended composition, Harlem (1950), was in the process of being completed at this time. Ellington later presented its score to music-loving President Harry Truman . Also during his time in Europe, Ellington would compose
13992-499: The time. The late 1950s also saw Ella Fitzgerald record her Duke Ellington Songbook (Verve) with Ellington and his orchestra—a recognition that Ellington's songs had now become part of the cultural canon known as the ' Great American Songbook '. Around this time Ellington and Strayhorn began to work on film scoring . The first of these was Anatomy of a Murder (1959), a courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger and featuring James Stewart , in which Ellington appeared fronting
14124-543: Was Parker's last public performance; about a week later he died after years of substance abuse. Mingus often worked with a mid-sized ensemble (around 8–10 members) of rotating musicians known as the Jazz Workshop. Mingus broke new ground, constantly demanding that his musicians be able to explore and develop their perceptions on the spot. Those who joined the Workshop (or Sweatshops as they were colorfully dubbed by
14256-422: Was a Chinese British subject from Hong Kong , and his maternal grandmother was an African American from the southern United States. Mingus was the great-great-great-grandson of his family's founding patriarch who, by most accounts, was a German immigrant. In Mingus's autobiography Beneath the Underdog , his mother was described as "the daughter of an English/Chinese man and a South-American woman", and his father
14388-515: Was a permanent departee. Drummer Louie Bellson replaced Greer, and his "Skin Deep" was a hit for Ellington. Tenor player Paul Gonsalves had joined in December 1950 after periods with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and stayed for the rest of his life, while Clark Terry joined in November 1951. André Previn said in 1952: "You know, Stan Kenton can stand in front of a thousand fiddles and
14520-609: Was also inspired by his first encounters with stride pianists James P. Johnson and Luckey Roberts. Later in New York, he took advice from Will Marion Cook , Fats Waller , and Sidney Bechet . He started to play gigs in cafés and clubs in and around Washington, D.C. His attachment to music was so strong that in 1916 he turned down an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn . Three months before graduating, he dropped out of Armstrong Manual Training School, where he
14652-610: Was also the group's booking agent. His first play date was at the True Reformer's Hall, where he took home 75 cents. Ellington played throughout the D.C. area and into Virginia for private society balls and embassy parties. The band included childhood friend Otto Hardwick , who began playing the string bass, then moved to C-melody sax and finally settled on alto saxophone; Arthur Whetsel on trumpet; Elmer Snowden on banjo; and Sonny Greer on drums. The band thrived, performing for both African-American and white audiences, rare in
14784-485: Was at times directed at members of his band and other times aimed at the audience. He was physically large, prone to obesity (especially in his later years), and was often intimidating and frightening when expressing anger or displeasure. When confronted with a nightclub audience talking and clinking ice in their glasses while he performed, Mingus stopped his band and loudly chastised the audience, stating: " Isaac Stern doesn't have to put up with this shit." Mingus destroyed
14916-426: Was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999. Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy (née Kennedy) Ellington in Washington, D.C. Both his parents were pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs , and James preferred operatic arias . They lived with Daisy's parents at 2129 Ida Place (now Ward Place) NW, in D.C.'s West End neighborhood. Duke's father
15048-588: Was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina , on April 15, 1879, and in 1886, moved to D.C. with his parents. Daisy Kennedy was born in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 1879, the daughter of two former American slaves . James Ellington made blueprints for the United States Navy . When Ellington was a child, his family showed racial pride and support in their home, as did many other families. African Americans in D.C. worked to protect their children from
15180-809: Was covered by Davey Graham on his album "Folk, Blues, and Beyond". Trumpeter Ron Miles performs a version of "Pithecanthropus Erectus" on his CD "Witness". New York Ska Jazz Ensemble has done a cover of Mingus's "Haitian Fight Song", as have the British folk rock group Pentangle and others. Hal Willner 's 1992 tribute album Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus ( Columbia Records ) contains idiosyncratic renditions of Mingus's works involving numerous popular musicians including Chuck D , Keith Richards , Henry Rollins and Dr. John . The Italian band Quintorigo recorded an entire album devoted to Mingus's music, titled Play Mingus . Gunther Schuller 's edition of Mingus's "Epitaph", which premiered at Lincoln Center in 1989,
15312-423: Was dedicated to telling the story of African Americans and the place of slavery and the church in their history. Black, Brown and Beige debuted at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1943, beginning an annual series of Ellington concerts at the venue over the next four years. While some jazz musicians had played at Carnegie Hall before, none had performed anything as elaborate as Ellington's work. Unfortunately, starting
15444-515: Was his neighbor) Shuffle Along . After the young musicians left the Sweatman Orchestra to strike out on their own, they found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive with difficult inroad. They hustled pool by day and played whatever gigs they could find. The young band met stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith , who introduced them to the scene and gave them some money. They played at rent-house parties for income. After
15576-473: Was issued later. The two 10" albums of the Massey Hall concert (one featured the trio of Powell, Mingus and Roach) were among Debut Records' earliest releases. Mingus may have objected to the way the major record companies treated musicians, but Gillespie once commented that he did not receive any royalties "for years and years" for his Massey Hall appearance. The records, however, are often regarded as among
15708-422: Was left with his white grandfather and great-grandparents. His father, who later changed his name to West, apparently did not have a relationship with Mingus Sr. His mother allowed only church-related music in their home, but Mingus developed an early love for other music, especially that of Duke Ellington . He studied trombone, and later cello, although he was unable to follow the cello professionally because, at
15840-407: Was light-skinned, should wear makeup. Ellington objected in the interval and compared Jeffries to Al Jolson . The change was reverted. The singer later commented that the audience must have thought he was an entirely different character in the second half of the show. Although it had sold-out performances and received positive reviews, it ran for only 122 performances until September 29, 1941, with
15972-644: Was one of many musicians whose perspectives on music were altered by Parker into "pre- and post-Bird" eras. Mingus gained a reputation as a bass prodigy. His first major professional job was playing with former Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard . He toured with Louis Armstrong in 1943, and by early 1945 was recording in Los Angeles in a band led by Russell Jacquet , which also included Teddy Edwards , Maurice James Simon , Wild Bill Davis , and Chico Hamilton , and in May that year, in Hollywood, again with Edwards, in
16104-533: Was recorded by Kevin Mahogany on Double Rainbow (1993) and Anita Wardell on Why Do You Cry? (1995). Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy " Duke " Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist , composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C. , Ellington was based in New York City from
16236-578: Was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games. Ellington started sneaking into Frank Holiday's Poolroom at age fourteen. Hearing the music of the poolroom pianists ignited Ellington's love for the instrument, and he began to take his piano studies seriously. Among the many piano players he listened to were Doc Perry, Lester Dishman, Louis Brown, Turner Layton , Gertie Wells, Clarence Bowser, Sticky Mack, Blind Johnny, Cliff Jackson , Claude Hopkins , Phil Wurd, Caroline Thornton, Luckey Roberts , Eubie Blake , Joe Rochester, and Harvey Brooks . In
16368-469: Was studying commercial art. Working as a freelance sign painter from 1917, Ellington began assembling groups to play for dances. In 1919, he met drummer Sonny Greer from New Jersey, who encouraged Ellington's ambition to become a professional musician. Ellington built his music business through his day job. When a customer asked him to make a sign for a dance or party, he would ask if they had musical entertainment; if not, Ellington would offer to play for
16500-559: Was subsequently released on Columbia/Sony Records. One of the most elaborate tributes to Mingus came on September 29, 1969, at a festival honoring him. Duke Ellington performed The Clown , with Ellington reading Jean Shepherd 's narration. It was long believed that no recording of this performance existed; however, one was discovered and premiered on July 11, 2013, by Dry River Jazz host Trevor Hodgkins for NPR member station KRWG-FM with re-airings on July 13, 2013, and July 26, 2014. Mingus's elegy for Duke, "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love",
16632-403: Was the concert recording properly released for the first time. The revived attention brought about by the Newport appearance should not have surprised anyone, Johnny Hodges had returned the previous year, and Ellington's collaboration with Strayhorn was renewed around the same time, under terms more amenable to the younger man. The original Ellington at Newport album was the first release in
16764-511: Was the first to feature drummer Dannie Richmond , who remained his preferred drummer until Mingus's death in 1979. The two men formed one of the most impressive and versatile rhythm sections in jazz. Both were accomplished performers seeking to stretch the boundaries of their music while staying true to its roots. When joined by pianist Jaki Byard , they were dubbed "The Almighty Three". In 1959, Mingus and his jazz workshop musicians recorded one of his best-known albums, Mingus Ah Um . Even in
16896-498: Was the main male vocalist in this era (until 1943) while Al Hibbler (who replaced Jeffries in 1943) continued until 1951. Ivie Anderson left in 1942 for health reasons after 11 years, the longest term of any of Ellington's vocalists. Once more recording for Victor (from 1940), with the small groups being issued on their Bluebird label, three-minute masterpieces on 78 rpm record sides continued to flow from Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Ellington's son Mercer Ellington , and members of
17028-494: Was the same piece. I was established as having my own repertoire." In his autobiography, Music is my Mistress (1973), Ellington wrote that he missed more lessons than he attended, feeling at the time that piano was not his talent. Ellington continued listening to, watching, and imitating ragtime pianists, not only in Washington, D.C. but also in Philadelphia and Atlantic City , where he vacationed with his mother during
17160-431: Was the son "of a black farm worker and a Swedish woman". Charles Mingus Sr. claims to have been raised by his mother and her husband as a white person until he was fourteen, when his mother revealed to her family that the child's true father was a black slave , after which he had to run away from his family and live on his own. The autobiography does not confirm whether Charles Mingus Sr. or Mingus himself believed this story
17292-559: Was true, or whether it was merely an embellished version of the Mingus family's lineage. According to new information used to educate visitors to Mingus Mill in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park , included in signs unveiled May 23, 2023, the father of Mingus Sr. was former slave Daniel Mingus, owned by the family of his mother Clarinda Mingus, a white woman. When Clarinda married a white man, Mingus Sr.
17424-539: Was unable to perform at the concert. Charged with assault, Mingus appeared in court in January 1963 and was given a suspended sentence. Knepper did again work with Mingus in 1977 and played extensively with the Mingus Dynasty , formed after Mingus's death in 1979. In addition to bouts of ill temper, Mingus was prone to clinical depression and tended to have brief periods of extreme creative activity intermixed with fairly long stretches of greatly decreased output, such as
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