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Beneath the underdog his world as composed…
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Beneath the underdog his world as composed by Mingus (original 1971; edition 1991)

by Charles Mingus, Nel King

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5411344,315 (3.82)10
A fascinating insight into Mingus' mind - unforgettable - The Times A pure genius - Miles Davis The purest of dynamite - Rolling Stone Bass player extraordinaire Charles Mingus, who died in 1979, is one of the essential composers in the history of jazz, and Beneath the Underdog, his celebrated, wild, funny, demonic, anguished, shocking and profoundly moving memoir, is the greatest autobiography ever written by a jazz musician. It tells of his God-haunted childhood in Watts during the 1920s and 1930s; his outcast adolescent years; his apprenticeship, not only with jazzmen but also with pimps, hookers, junkies, and hoodlums; and his golden years in New York City with such legendary figures as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Here is Mingus in his own words, from shabby roadhouses to fabulous estates, from the psychiatric wards of Bellevue to worlds of mysticism and solitude, but for all his travels never straying too far, always returning to music.… (more)
Member:razorsoccamremembers
Title:Beneath the underdog his world as composed by Mingus
Authors:Charles Mingus
Other authors:Nel King
Info:New York Vintage cop. 1991
Collections:Your library, Gelezen voor 2007
Rating:**1/2
Tags:None

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Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus by Charles Mingus (1971)

  1. 00
    The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron (freddlerabbit)
    freddlerabbit: Another memoir that doesn't tell you much about the artist, but that's written in his own, distinctive style.
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» See also 10 mentions

English (12)  Dutch (1)  All languages (13)
Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
Imagine if Iceberg Slim had helped ghost write Miles Davis' classic autobiography. ( )
  JeremyBrashaw | May 30, 2021 |
Wow! Straffen toebak. Geen droge bio of een boek vol opsommingen en feitjes, maar een anekdotische vlot geschreven rollercoaster doorheen het leven en vooral het brein en gemoed van Mingus.
Je staat met je neus op de dagelijkse strijd van Mingus met zichzelf, zijn gevecht om erkenning als zwarte muzikant en als zwarte tout court. Heftig, waanzinnig, hilarisch, indrukwekkend. ( )
  GertDeBie | Mar 22, 2021 |
It's difficult to describe Charles Mingus' story. It's improvisational, stream-of-consciousness, full of dialogue, philosophy and sexual escapades. He addresses and hates the racism inherent in the music business and the world in general. The story wanders often but is never, ever boring. ( )
  Hagelstein | Jun 28, 2020 |
I loved this book. I read a lot of jazz biographies, and i have an interest in jazz behind the iron curtain - and this book has enough drugs, prostitution, crime, bigotry, religion, and insanity to justify banning jazz music in half a dozen countries. Mingus's voice is as clear as the voice of his muse, who takes turns narrating the story and interviewing the musician. Fifty years of the backdrop to the jazz scenes of New York, California, and the south - the way it was for a half-black half-mad genius.
If there's a downside, there isn't much about jazz. Great musicians wander through the tale, but the tunes, gigs, and venues are incidental to the girls and the troubles of a crazy pimp and artist trying to make his way through an impossible life. Occasionally the number of albums he's recorded comes up in conversation, but not a single session is mentioned. If you want more of that, read a biography - you might also find out how true the stories are. I don't care, it's his reality and they are his stories and i loved them. ( )
1 vote andrewlorien | Mar 30, 2016 |
Large. Music. Jazz in the fingers. ( )
  dbsovereign | Jan 26, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (8 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Charles Mingusprimary authorall editionscalculated
King, NelEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pfeiffer, GünterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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'In other words I am three. One man stands forever in the middle, unconcerned, unmoved, watching, waiting to be allowed to express what he sees to the other two. The second man is like a frightened animal that attacks for fear of being attacked. Then there's an over-loving gentle person who lets people into the uttermost sacred temple of his being
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A fascinating insight into Mingus' mind - unforgettable - The Times A pure genius - Miles Davis The purest of dynamite - Rolling Stone Bass player extraordinaire Charles Mingus, who died in 1979, is one of the essential composers in the history of jazz, and Beneath the Underdog, his celebrated, wild, funny, demonic, anguished, shocking and profoundly moving memoir, is the greatest autobiography ever written by a jazz musician. It tells of his God-haunted childhood in Watts during the 1920s and 1930s; his outcast adolescent years; his apprenticeship, not only with jazzmen but also with pimps, hookers, junkies, and hoodlums; and his golden years in New York City with such legendary figures as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Here is Mingus in his own words, from shabby roadhouses to fabulous estates, from the psychiatric wards of Bellevue to worlds of mysticism and solitude, but for all his travels never straying too far, always returning to music.

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