Charles Mingus was an
unusual character.
Yes. It’s a shame he wasn’t British and wealthy because then
we could have called him eccentric. But he was American and came from an
impoverished background so he was generally considered to be something of a
lunatic I’m afraid to say.
Was this recorded
before or after the legendary Town Hall concert1?
After. I was there you know. I witnessed the entire thing.
What an appalling evening that was.
Was it really as bad
as they say?
Worse. Significantly worse. I recall Mr Mingus commenced the
evening by delivering a speech along the lines of “Look this is probably
dreadful and we haven’t rehearsed so you can get your money back if you don’t
like it.” Then he proceeded to perform with musicians who hadn’t the slightest idea
what they were doing. There were people at tables on the side of the stage
actually copying out the arrangements that they had worked out that afternoon
hoping desperately to finish before the musicians required them. The
intermission arrived and the second half was played to a near-empty room
because all present had decamped to the box office in an attempt to retrieve
the price of their ticket. I’m told that the gentlemen who originally wrote out
most of the music didn’t attend because Mr Mingus had hospitalised him the day
before with a lusty blow to the face2.
And the next thing he
did was record The Black Saint?
Yes. We were under strict instructions not to mention The
Town Hall concert under any circumstances, as if any of us were inclined to remind the extremely irritable gentlemen with the violent temper about
the worst moment of his professional life. Do you know who wrote the liner
notes for Black Saint?
No. Who?
His psychologist. I believe that speaks volumes. When the
person you feel is most qualified to present an essay on your achievements is
the medical professional tasked with keeping your sanity in check, I think it’s
fair to say you should probably consider taking some time off to work on your
priorities.
1. Charles Mingus
performed a concert in October 1962 which is widely regarded as among the worst
concerts of the jazz era. Mingus assembled a huge number of musicians and in a
short period of time, gave them endless redrafts of the music he wanted. They
eventually performed with little rehearsal and music being copied out as they
played. The result was an absolute disaster and police had to be called in to
deal with the crowds of people at the box office demanding their money back.
2. Mingus did assault
Jim Knepper who required dental surgery and sued him as a result.
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