Charles Mingus

Bassist/composer Charles Mingus (born April 22, 1922) was one of the most prolific composers the music has produced. Over his decades long career, he collaborated with many of our music’s greats, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Max Roach and Eric Dolphy to name a few. He was one of the first artists to attempt to control the recording and distribution of his own recordings, founding Debut Records in the 1950’s, and was a vocal proponent for equal rights, many of his compositions are social commentary on the injustices perpetrated on black people in America. On Sunday, April 14th, we'll be performing many of his tunes that have become jazz standards, including Goodbye, Porkpie Hat, Duke Ellington’s Sounds of Love, Better Get It In Your Soul and many others.