How big an impact did Charles Mingus have beyond the jazz world?
And why are so many stylistically disparate artists drawn to the music of the legendary composer, bassist and band leader, who died in 1979 and whose centennial will be celebrated on Saturday in Nogales, the Arizona border town where he was born?
These are questions we have posed to an array of performers in Union-Tribune interviews over the years. Here are some of their responses.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards:
“Charlie Mingus was one of the most original composers and players of (the 20th) century. I got turned on to him the same time I was listening to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters in 1958 and ’59 when I went to art school. ‘Blues and Roots’ was the album that turned me on to Mingus. After that, I picked up everything he did. And if I didn’t have it, Charlie Watts would.”
Magician (and avocational bassist) Penn Gillette:
“I’m obsessed with Charles Mingus... He was such an exceptional musician and composer. Magic is easy. Music is hard. Mingus had it all.”
Bassist turned country-pop star Kenny Rogers:
“It was hard to beat (the 1959 album) ‘Mingus Ah Um,’ but ‘Mingus Dynasty’ was great as well. Playing stand-up bass was such an important part of my life at the time, and I think these guys (Mingus and Ray Brown) — as far as I’m concerned — were the very best. I drew a great deal of inspiration just listening to them.”
Alabama Shakes singer/guitarist Brittany Howard:
“Charlie Mingus was really something! His music was so powerful and passionate.”
Ray Davies of The Kinks:
“Mingus’ music had a great spontaneity and immediacy that were so inspirational to me. Even though he didn’t like rock, I felt a strange kinship with him in his approach to music and jamming (to create new songs)... It’s a chain of inspiration.”
Singer/pianist Jamie Cullum:
“I’d already made my first album (1999’s ‘Heard It All Before’). But I thought music was just for fun, something I did in my spare time to meet girls and go to parties. I didn’t have the feeling that I was good enough. After hearing the Mingus Big Band (in London in 2001), I thought: ‘Well, I’ll try and become good enough’... (They were) so amazing that I thought: ‘This is what I want to do!’ And that was it.”
Poet and playwright Michael C. Ford:
“People ask me why I write about Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk but not (pop-jazz guitarist) Lee Ritenour. I say they don’t need that. What they need to hear about are people like Mingus to remind them of how the truth got put down with beauty and clarity. I’m just a poetic plow pushing away the clutter to let them see the diamonds of truth, especially jazz, which is one of the best things to put into language. Today’s punks may never have heard of Charles Mingus, but it’s important for them to know about their ancestors. There’s a necessity for them to know who kicked the rocks away first.”
