ENDEIT
Charles Mingus
Photo: Charles_Mingus_1976.jpg : Tom Marcello Webster, New York…, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pianists · 1922–1979

Charles Mingus

American jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader (1922–1979)

Born
22 April 1922
Nogales
Died
5 January 1979
Cuernavaca
Country
United States
Active
1943–1979
Record labels
Columbia Records, Blue Note, Atlantic Records, Mercury Records, Candid Records
Discography
80 albums

Biography

Charles Mingus was a jazz musician who played piano, double bass, trombone and cello. Charles Mingus was born on 22 April 1922 in Nogales and died on 5 January 1979 in Cuernavaca. The music is usually filed under jazz, post-bop and free jazz. Record labels: Columbia Records, Blue Note, Atlantic Records and Mercury Records. The discography here lists 80 albums, from “Strings and Keys” (1953) to “The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott's” (2022). Honours include Guggenheim Fellowship (1971), Grammy Hall of Fame (1994) and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1996).

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 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 the Sinner Lady (1963).

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Discography

Studio and live albums

Strings and Keys 1953 · Debut Jazz Collaborations, Vol. I 1955 · Debut Jazzical Moods 1955 · Period Records The Charles Mingus Quintet + Max Roach 1955 · Live · Fantasy Jazz Composers Workshop 1956 · Savoy Records Mingus at the Bohemia 1956 · Live · Debut Pithecanthropus Erectus 1956 · Atlantic A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry With Charles Mingus 1957 · Bethlehem Records East Coasting 1957 · Parlophone Mingus Three 1957 · Jubilee The Clown 1957 · Atlantic Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland 1959 · Live · United Artists Mingus Ah Um 1959 · Columbia Blues & Roots 1960 · Atlantic Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus 1960 · Candid Mingus 1960 · Candid Mingus Dynasty 1960 · Columbia Pre-Bird 1961 · Mercury Records Oh Yeah 1962 · Atlantic Tijuana Moods 1962 · RCA Victor Town Hall Concert 1962 · Live · United Artists Reincarnation of a Love Bird 1963 · Candid The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady 1963 · impulse! Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus 1964 · impulse! Mingus Plays Piano 1964 · impulse! Tonight at Noon 1964 · Atlantic Town Hall Concert 1964 · Live · Jazz Workshop Mingus at Monterey 1965 · Live · Jazz Workshop
Right Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop 1966 · Live · Fantasy
Blue Bird 1971 · America Records Let My Children Hear Music 1972 · Columbia The Great Concert of Charles Mingus 1972 · Live · Prestige Charles Mingus and Friends 1973 · Live · CBS Mingus Moves 1974 · Atlantic
Mingus at Carnegie Hall 1974 · Live · Atlantic
Changes One 1975 · Atlantic Changes Two 1975 · Atlantic Mingus at Antibes 1976 · Live · Atlantic Three or Four Shades of Blues 1977 · Atlantic
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion 1978 · Atlantic
Me, Myself an Eye 1979 · Atlantic Something Like a Bird 1980 · Atlantic
Mingus In Europe Volume I 1981 · Live
Mingus in Europe 1981 · Live · enja 1964-04-17: Revenge!, Salle Wagram, Paris, France 1987 · Live · France’s Concert 1964-04-10: "Concertgebouw", Amsterdam, Netherlands 1988 · Live · Jazz Collectors 1970-10-28: Theatre National Populaire du Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France 1988 · Live · Ulysse Musique
1972-08-22: Chateauvallon, France 1989 · Live
Live in Oslo 1964 1989 · Live · Polydor
1964-04-14: Old Fellow Palaet's Store Sal, Copenhagen, Denmark 1990 · Live
Epitaph 1990 · Live · Columbia
With Orchestra 1990
1964-04-13: Stockholm, Sweden 1991 · Live
1976-04: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, USA 1992 · Live
1964-04-19: Champs-Élysées, Paris, France 1993 · Live
Fables of Faubus Slugs', Vol. 2 1994 · Live
Stormy & Funky Blues 1995
Live in Stuttgart ! 1964 2000 · Live · Unique Jazz Music Written for Monterey 1965 Not Heard… Played in Its Entirety at UCLA 2006 · Live · Sue Mingus Music
1964-04-16: Bremen, Germany 2010 · Live
1972-08-12: Loosdrecht, Netherlands 2013 · Live
“Statement” 2014 · Live · Studio Songs Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden 2018 · Live · BBE Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 2020 · Live · Sunnyside
Box Seats At Newport 2022 · Live
The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott's 2022 · Live · KING
1972-04-17: "Village Vanguard", NYC, USA · Live
1972-07-29: Nice Jazz Festival, Nice, France · Live
1972-08-14-(15?): "Ronnie Scott's Club", London, England · Live
1974-07-27: "Rocca Brancaleone", Ravenna, Italy · Live
1975-04-15: "Village Vanguard", NYC, USA · Live
1975-07-09: "Postaula", Bremen, West Germany · Live
1975-07-19: Ahus Jazz Festival, Piratenteatern, Sweden · Live
1975-07-27: La Spezia, Italy · Live
1976-08-16: Jazzhaus, Montmartre, Copenhagen, Denmark · Live
1977-06-02: "Teatro Coliseo", Buenos Aires, Argentina · Live
1977-07-16: Sitges, Spain · Live
Chazz!
Lullabye of the Leaves · Tobacco Road Shadows · Doxy

Also plays on

Albums where Charles Mingus is credited as a sideman

1951 The New Sounds — Miles Davis double bass
1954 Jay & Kai — Kai Winding & J.J. Johnson double bass
1955 Blue Moods — Miles Davis double bass, instrument arranger
1955 The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Volume 2 — Jay Jay Johnson double bass
1955 The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Volume 1 — Jay Jay Johnson double bass
1956 This Is How I Feel About Jazz — Quincy Jones bass
1956 Blue Haze — Miles Davis piano
1957 Four Trombones — Kai Winding + J.J. Johnson + Bennie Green + Willie Dennis And Featuring John Lewis & Charlie Mingus double bass
1957 Word From Bird — Teddy Charles double bass
1961 The Happy "Bird" — Charlie Parker double bass
1962 Money Jungle — Duke Ellington • Charlie Mingus • Max Roach double bass
1971 Summit Sessions — Dave Brubeck bass
1982 Inner Fires — Bud Powell double bass
1989 Candid Dolphy — Eric Dolphy double bass
1991 Jazz at Massey Hall, Volume 2 — Bud Powell double bass
1991 Thad Jones — Thad Jones double bass
2006 In Philadelphia 1960 — Thelonious Monk with Steve Lacy bass
2009 Diggin' Dizz — Dizzy Gillespie double bass
2011 Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements From the Pen of Johnny Richards and Quincy Jones — Sonny Stitt bass
2020 Plays Cole Porter — Charlie Parker double bass
2023 Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings — Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus & Max Roach producer, bass
— Spring Broadcasts 1953 — Bud Powell double bass

Standards written by Charles Mingus

TitleKeyFormGroove
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat E♭ major AA · 24 Ballad
Better Git It In Your Soul F major AABA · 38 Up-tempo swing
Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love D♭ major ABC · 32 Ballad
Peggy's Blue Skylight D♭ major AABC · 48 Medium swing
Reincarnation Of A Lovebird F♯ minor ABCDA · 66 Medium-up swing
Nostalgia In Times Square F major A · 12 Medium-up swing

Awards

Historic 78 rpm records

  • Merle's Mood Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Illinois Jacquet · Arthur… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • Memories of You Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Blake · Razof · Illionois… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • Wondering And Thinking of You Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Russell Jacquet · Illinois… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • What's This Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · William Doggett · Illinois… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • MEMORIES OF YOU Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Illinois Jacquet · Arthur… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • MERLE'S MOOD Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Illinois Jacquet · Arthur… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • WHAT'S THIS Illinois Jacquet and his All Stars · Illinois Jacquet · Arthur… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • Night and Day Red Norvo Trio · Red Norvo · Tal Farlow · Charles Mingus · Cole Porter · 1950 archive.org ↗

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Charles Mingus play?

Charles Mingus is known for playing piano, double bass, trombone and cello.

When and where was Charles Mingus born?

Charles Mingus was born 22 April 1922 in Nogales.

What are Charles Mingus's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Strings and Keys (1953), Jazz Collaborations, Vol. I (1955), Jazzical Moods (1955), The Charles Mingus Quintet + Max Roach (1955) and Jazz Composers Workshop (1956).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.