Essay on Charles Mingus in the 1950s - 3762 Words

Charles Mingus in the 1950s Charles Mingus is one of the most original and influential jazz composers of the twentieth century. He created the second-largest volume of jazz work after Duke Ellington (McDonough 20), and is the first African-American composer to have his work acquired by the Library of Congress (Harrington B1). Mingus is known for his unusual style of composing and playing, which attempted to reconcile jazz improvisation with orchestration, in order for the final composition to conform most closely to his vision. Also, Mingus liberated the bass from its mundane role of keeping time, turning it into a fully versatile instrument as capable of stating the theme as the horns. While forging a new role for his instrument, he†¦show more content†¦While he was already an accomplished artist, it appeared at the time that music would not be a practical way for him to make a living. In 1949 he moved to New York and began to work for the U.S. Postal Service, his fathers employer (Zenni 4, 8). By the n he was thirty years old. In New York, he met drummer Max Roach, and over time, they routinely visited with each other, forming a musical and personal relationship. Roach landed Mingus his first major date with the beboppers in 1952. Several of the great bebop artists, Charlie Parker, pianist Bud Powell, Roach and Dizzy Gillespie, were to perform at Massey Hall in Toronto. Roach asked Mingus to take the place of bassist Oscar Pettiford, who had been injured. This event, billed on the cover of its LP recording as The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever, marked the beginning of Mingus period of closest alignment with the bebop movement. The concert was flawed in numerous ways; most notably, an important boxing match was happening the same night, so only a third of the seats were taken at Massey Hall. Charlie Parker, who forgot his saxophone and picked out a white plastic one to use after driving around Toronto, was sparring with Gillespie throughout the entire concert. Gillespie would frequently go backstage to get updates on the boxing match. For his part, Powell arrived inebriated. The same disorder prevailed at a later show, Parkers last one at Birdland . Disgusted patrons left theShow MoreRelatedCharles Mingus and Civil Rights1572 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Mingus was one of the most influential and groundbreaking jazz musicians and composers of the 1950s and 1960s. The virtuoso bassist gained fame in the 1940s and 1950s working with such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and many others. His compositions pushed harmonic barriers, combining Western-European classical styles with African-American roots music. While examining his career is valuable from musical standpoint, his career also provides a powerfulRead MoreEssay on Jazz3014 Words   |  13 PagesLucky Thompson, trumpeters Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, and Miles Davis, pianists Bud Powell, Duke Jordan, Al Haig, and Thelonious Monk, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassists Oscar Pettiford, Tommy Potter, and Charles Mingus, and drummers Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, and Roy Haynes. Miles, Monk, and Mingus went on to further advances in the po st-bebop eras, and their music will be discussed later. Cool Jazz Although Miles Davis first appeared on bebop recordings of Charlie Parker, his first important sessionRead MoreThe Legacy Of Jazz And The Civil Rights Movement1432 Words   |  6 PagesAustin Hartshorn Mr. McQuade AP Literature May 2, 2016 Marvels of Mingus Jazz is considered America’s gift to the world. Throughout all of America’s history jazz has been there to accompany and reflect it. But jazz has had its own history that is often underappreciated and hidden from the general public. There is evidence of this covering up of the history of jazz for example in the civil rights movement. The roots of jazz started with the bringing of African slaves to the Americas. While many doRead MoreCool Jazz : Music And Jazz1036 Words   |  5 PagesMusician of the Year award in 1947. At nineteen, Gerry Mulligan wrote and played for Gene Krupa’s orchestra and then for Claude Thornhill. Also at this time, he was studying with Gil Evans and began associating with artists such as John Lewis, Charles Mingus, Lee Konitz, George Russell, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Jack â€Å"Zoot† Sims, and Al Cohn. Chicago s white alto saxophonist Lee Konitz was the quintessential cool musician, having played with Claude Thornhill (1947), Miles Davis (1948) andRead MoreJazz Albums as Art Essay4662 Words   |  19 Pageswhen all of a jazz albums artistic values are high, music and package alike, the listener/observer/holder/reader has access to an aesthetic experience that is deeply and uniquely satisfying. Prior to the introduction of the 12-inch LP in 1950, 78 rpm jazz records (and records in all categories) were packaged either in single paper sleeves or in sleeve-pages of albums having two or more platters bundled together. They were albums (from Latin albus, white) in the sense that they consistedRead MoreChange Of The Century By Ornette Coleman Analysis1776 Words   |  8 Pagesanalyzing Coleman’s music style, Stephen Rush, Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, goes as far as comparing Coleman’s timeline with events during the civil rights movement. Although it is common to link the civil rights tension during the 1950s and 1960s to Coleman’s free jazz pieces, there is no significant evidence of its impact on his songs. In actuality, Coleman’s experimental nature and reaction against bebop sounds were stronger influences on his free jazz works. Contrary to howRead MoreThe Independent Record Labels of the 1950’s and 1960’s4437 Words   |  18 PagesThe Independent Record Labels of the 1950’s and 1960’s History of Music Production Eric Eller Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, a wave of new musical movements by independent record labels and new artists emerged in the United States. This movement is captured in the stories of those label creators and owners, and in the turbulent journey through their successes and failures. The first emergence was fueled by multiple factors: competitive economic circumstances, up-and-coming local musicalRead MoreThe Music Of Jazz Music Essay1895 Words   |  8 PagesDixieland bands while he studied at the Southeastern Louisiana University. Majoring in music, he graduated in 1950. Evans joined the army soon after graduation and was placed in the Fifth Army Band near Chicago. After three years in the service, he left and moved to New York in 1954 where he played with musicians such as Herbie Fields, Mundell Lowe, Red Mitchell, Tony Scott and Charles Mingus. In 1956, Bill Evans recorded his first album as a leader for Riverside; New Jazz Conceptions. This album hadRead MoreThe Korean War : An Economic, Social, And Cultural Interregnum2401 Words   |  10 Pagesconnection with San Francisco down the years and they were all fairly well known amongst bohemian intellectuals before they ever saw the city. William Burroughs, several years older than the rest, had first brought them together in New York shortly after 1950. Kerouac and Ginsberg were at that time students at Columbia and Gregory Corso a non-student at Harvard University. For several years a group of very hip young men had been running a magazine in St. Louis called Neurotica. About 1952 two of the editorsRead MoreEssay on Jazz2018 Words   |  9 Pagesaudience who are always open to new sensations. As I was watching the documentary on the infamous Blue Note recording company, one of the jazz musicians that they interviewed made an interesting comment about the African-American jazz artists in the 1950s-1960s composing songs about their struggle for civil rights. I found that interesting becaus e I never knew that I was listening to instrumental songs about civil rights protesting. I really wanted to do an I-Search paper on jazz, but I decided to research