Musician. Born in Nogales, Arizona, he was a virtuoso jazz bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. He began his professional career in the 1940's, touring with bands like Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton. Eventually settling in New York in the 1950s, he played and recorded with the leading jazz musicians such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington. He recorded over a hundred albums and wrote over three hundred scores. As a composer his numerous jazz standards included "The Clown", "A Foggy Day", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", "Better Get It In Yo Soul", "Haitian Fight Song", "Blue Cee" and "Reincarnation of a Lovebird". He toured extensively throughout the world until 1977, when he was diagnosed as having a rare nerve disease, Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis. He died in Mexico at age 56 and both New York City and Washington, D.C. honored him posthumously with a "Charles Mingus Day".
Musician. Born in Nogales, Arizona, he was a virtuoso jazz bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. He began his professional career in the 1940's, touring with bands like Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton. Eventually settling in New York in the 1950s, he played and recorded with the leading jazz musicians such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington. He recorded over a hundred albums and wrote over three hundred scores. As a composer his numerous jazz standards included "The Clown", "A Foggy Day", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", "Better Get It In Yo Soul", "Haitian Fight Song", "Blue Cee" and "Reincarnation of a Lovebird". He toured extensively throughout the world until 1977, when he was diagnosed as having a rare nerve disease, Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis. He died in Mexico at age 56 and both New York City and Washington, D.C. honored him posthumously with a "Charles Mingus Day".
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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