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Mingus' legacy is enormous: He is generally ranked among the finest jazz composers and performers; some consider him perhaps greatest bassist in jazz history. Many Mingus albums are easily available; most are highly regarded. Dozens of musicians passed through his bands and later went on to impressive careers. His songs though melodic and distinctive are sometimes underrecorded by later musicians, due in part to their challenging nature.
Mingus is nearly as well known for his volatile temperament as for his ambitious music. His refusal to compromise his musical integrity led to many onstage explosions, though it has been argued that his temper grew also from his desire to vent frustration. Ironically, a perfect show could irritate him by closing this outlet.
Mingus was prone to depression (possibly manic-depression). He tended to have brief periods of extreme creative activity, intermixed with fairly long periods of greatly decreased output.
Most of Mingus' music retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop, and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third Stream Jazz and free jazzFree jazz is a style of music developed in the 1950s and 1960s and pioneered by artists such as Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, BillDixon and Paul Bley. Some of the best known examples are the later works of John Co. Yet Mingus avoided categorization, forging his own unique brand of music that fused tradition with unique and unexplored realms of jazz.
Mingus is often considered the heir apparent to Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (Born: April 29, 1899 in Washington, DC Died: May 24, 1974 in New York City) was an American jazz composer, pianist and bandleader. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 and in 1973, the Legion of Honor b, for whom he expressed unqualified admiration.
Mingus was born in Nogales, ArizonaNogales Papago No-wa:l is a city located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 20,878. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County 6. Nogales, Arizona, borders the city of Nogales, Son, but raised largely in the WattsWatts is a district of central Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood is bounded by 108th Street, Century Boulevard and 107th Street on the north; Wilmington and Croesus Avenue on the east; Imperial Highway on the south and Compton Avenue and Central A area of Los Angeles, CaliforniaThis article is about the city in California. For other uses of 'Los Angeles' see Los Angeles (disambiguation The City of Los Angeles widely known by its abbreviation L. is a large coastal metropolis in Southern California in the western United States..
His mother allowed only church-related music in their home, but Mingus developed an early love for jazz, especially Ellington's music. He studied tromboneNever look at the trombones. It only encourages them. Richard Strauss The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. It is pitched lower than the trumpet, and higher than the tuba. A person who plays the trombone is called a trombonist. A tromb, and later celloString instruments Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human The cello (also violoncello or cello is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. The cello is much larger than a violin, an. Much of the cello technique he learnt was applicable to double bass when he took up the instrument in high schoolHigh school or secondary school is the last segment of compulsory education in Hong Kong, United States, Australia, Canada, China, Korea and Japan. It provides a secondary education. Hong Kong Secondary education in Hong Kong is largely based on the Briti.
Even in his teen years, Mingus was writing a considerable number of rather advanced songs; many are similar to Third Stream Jazz. A number of these pieces were recorded in 1960 with conductor Gunther Schuller, and released as Pre-Bird.