Charles Mingus Tribute at The Barnsdall Center

Last night we sat in on a panel discussion of Charles Mingus at the Barnsdall Art Center. It's a strange space, perched atop a lone hill in the middle of LA, the site of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House. Commissioned in the early 1900's, it was later given to the city of Los Angeles to be an Art Center.


Charles Mingus is one of my all time favorite composers and musicians. He was an infamous and often misunderstood man, but a well respected genius. Here I am, talking to his son Eric Mingus, after the show. Eric (A talented musician in his own right) was asked what it was like to be compared to his father and what it was like to grow up in his shadow. Eric considered that for a moment, and answered quite humbly, that he didn't feel people necessarily often compared him to his father. He also said that what he enjoyed most, were stories people shared with him about how his father's music had influenced them. With that in mind, I approached Eric at the reception afterwards and told him a story I had-

My parents divorced when I was about 11 or so, back in the late 80's, and by the time I was about 12 or 13, I had formed some opinions of the whole situation, and for various reasons, had stopped speaking to my father. It wasn't until I was about 18, and due to some advice from my Godfather, decided to give the old man another chance, and at least meet up with him. That first day I began to speak to him again, one of the things we found in common was that we were both very interested in Charles Mingus, and in fact, were both very interested in the same album (Mysterious Blues). Mingus was not only the common ground for us that day, but a musician we both discussed, and listened to, quite often for the rest of our time together. Among the things I got from my father when he passed away (like an enormous collection of old 78 records), is a love of Jazz.

Although a true love of music can't come from anyplace but within, I learned a lot about Mingus from my dad, and, in some ways, a lot about my dad from Mingus.

(some other stuff I lifted straight off Wikipedia):

As respected as Mingus was for his musical talents, he was sometimes feared for his occasional violent onstage temper, which was at times directed at members of his band, and other times aimed at the audience. He was physically large, prone to obesity (especially in his later years), and was by all accounts often intimidating and frightening when expressing anger or displeasure.
When confronted with a nightclub audience talking and clinking ice in their glasses while he performed, Mingus stopped his band and loudly chastised the audience, stating "Isaac Stern doesn't have to put up with this shit."[13][not in citation given] He once played a prank on a similar group of nightclub chatterers by silencing his band for several seconds, allowing the loud audience members to be clearly heard, then continuing as the rest of the audience snickered at the oblivious "soloists".[citation needed]
On October 12, 1962, Mingus punched Jimmy Knepper in the mouth while the two men were working together at Mingus's apartment on a score for his upcoming concert at New York Town Hall and Knepper refused to take on more work. The blow from Mingus broke off a crowned tooth and its underlying stub.[15] According to Knepper, this ruined his embouchure and resulted in the permanent loss of the top octave of his range on the trombone - a significant handicap for any professional trombonist. This attack ended their working relationship and Knepper was unable to perform at the concert. Charged with assault, Mingus appeared in court in January, 1963 and was given a suspended sentence.[16]
Mingus was also evicted from his apartment at 5 Great Jones Street in New York City because he fired a gun through his wall into a neighbor's apartment.