Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr.was an American jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader. 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBassist
Date of Birth22 April 1922
CityNogales, AZ
CountryUnited States of America
Charles Mingus quotes about
Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.
Everything I do is Mingus.
If Charlie Parker were a Gunslinger, There'd be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats
They're singing your praises while stealing your phrases.
Making the complicated simple is true creativity.
Whatever coast he's on, a man should be himself. I don't write in any particular idiom, I write Charles Mingus.
I am Charles Mingus, half black man, not even white enough to pass for nothing but black. I am Charles Mingus, a famed jazzman, but not famed enough to make a living in this society.
Let my children have music! Let them hear live music.
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; ...
I always thought that no matter what kind of work people did, they should involve themselves totally with all the discrimination they ran into.
It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique, a clique of people. Who all believed in one thing: gettin' high. And playin'.
Most of the soloists at Birdland had to wait for Parker's next record in order to find out what to play next. What will they do now?
Most customers, by the time the musicians reach the second set, are to some extent inebriated. They don't care what you play anyway.