Charles Mingus was so much more than a bassist – composer, conceptualist, classically trained cellist, social critic – that it’s sometimes easy to forget just how much power he had on his instrument. But at the heart of his lush, kaleidoscopic pieces was a relentless rhythmic drive that flowed from his fingers, through the strings, and straight into his bands.
It sounded like the soloists were jumping on a giant trampoline. Hear him perform on classic compositions like “II BS” and “Better Get Hit in Your Soul” alongside drummer and musical soulmate Dannie Richmond, and you’ll get a sense of the strength and grace of his playing, the way he could make a line sound both bulky and nimble.
Mingu’s career spanned several eras of jazz, and his mastery of the instrument made stylistic divisions irrelevant. Because of this, he felt at home everywhere: in the late 1940s with Lionel Hampton’s Big Band, in the 1950s with other bebop greats (on the famous Jazz at Massey Hall album with bass parts recorded in the Studio by Mingus) and in the 1960s with his musical idol Duke Ellington (on the immortal Money Jungle).
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Although best known for his contribution to jazz, he was never committed to it, as evidenced by his collaborations with Joni Mitchell and his influence on sixties rock greats like Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts. Throughout his life, Mingus spoke out against those who tried to limit or underestimate his artistic output. He once said about the injustice of a survey of jazz critics: “I don’t want any of those damn polls. I know what kind of bass player I am.”