Mingus
...figures in twentieth century American music as composer, bandleader, bassist, and pianist.
He grew up in Watts, California. He lived with his religious stepmother and thus his earliest musical influences came from the church--choir and group singing. Mingus began the study of music at an early age. From six until about sixteen, he tried to learn the trombone; but dissatisfied with poor teachers, he took up the cello and by high school the double bass. He studied the double bass first with Red Calendar and then five years with Herman Rheinshagen, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic; and studied also compositional techniques with the legendary Lloyd Reese. These years of study laid a foundation for his technique. The young Mingus also absorbed first hand the vernacular music from the great jazz masters.
Mingus began as a "serious" composer, as steeped in Stravinsky and Schoenberg as in Ellington. Although he wrote his first concert piece, "Half-Mast Inhibition," when he was seventeen years old. A 22-piece orchestra did not record it until twenty years later.
In the 1940s, Mingus played with a number of well-known musicians. When he was 20 years old, Mingus had a professional stint with Kid Ory in Barney Bigard's group (1942). The following year he was touring with Louis Armstrong. During the mid-40s Mingus made a move toward rhythm and blues and in 1947 began work with Lionel Hampton's big band, where he made a name as a jazz musician, writing and playing.
During the Hampton period, Mingus also led various ensembles under the stage name of Baron Von Mingus. In 1950 Mingus worked with vibist Red Norvo and guitarist Tal Farlow and recorded with Red Norvo. In New York (1951), Mingus also played with Billy Taylor, Stan Getz, and Art Tatum. And settling in New York in 1953 Mingus played bass for the infamous Massey Hall concert with Charlie Parker,...
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