Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus (1922-1979) was a bassist, composer, bandleader, and pianist from Nogales, Arizona, who grew up in Los Angeles and later made his name in New York. He worked across hard bop, post-bop, and avant-garde jazz, and his music wove together loosely composed passages with improvised solos in a way that shaped the sound of jazz across the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. He collaborated with musicians including Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Eric Dolphy, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz composers in history.