Charles Mingus

Charles Minus Charles Minus is a very important and influential name in Jazz; however he is left out by many historians when talking about the history of Jazz. The main reason he is left out by so many historians, Mark Griddle in particular, is because of his attitude and ego. He Is clearly not the most pleasant person, and he surely does not display how a real Jazz musician should act, at least according to most historians.The way he acts during performances can be quite startling at first, If you are not familiar with is ways and methods of playing. For example, he was known for using profanity during performances, either geared at the audience if they were being too loud or the sound operators if the sound wasnt up to Minings expectations. That being said, Minus Is a great musician, and Just because he doesnt display the best of etiquettes while performing, doesnt mean he should be left out of the history books. Minus also has a very long list of accomplishments In his life. As a growing musician, he was most inspired by Duke Longtime, and he even got the chance to play side him at one point, even if only for a very short amount of time (Due to his demanding and not very pleasant attitude). Not only was Minus a very accomplished bassist, but he also went on to be one of the best and most known band leaders and composers in all of Jazz, with such an enormous amount of variety in his music.That being said, the only real reason historians have for choosing to exempt him from Jazz history books was because of the way he acted. If I were to alter Mark Griddles Concise Guide Tacoma, I would include Charles Minus in chapter 8, Hard Bop. Although Minings styles vary so much that it is hard to place him into one chapter, I feel like this chapter includes the most variance to do so in such an acceptable and correct way.This chapter includes many jazz sounds that spin off of many of the cool styles, as well as bop, bebop, hard bop, funky Jazz, mainstream, post-bop, and soul Jazz. These are all elements that Minus has displayed at one time or another during either his composing or bassist career. Another chapter I would also include him in would be Chapter 5, How Swing Differs from Early Jazz. I would include Minus in this chapter as well because it talks so much of his most influential Jazz artist, and at one point fellow band mate, Duke Longtime.I feel like Minus truly does have enough variance in his music to help point out and draw the flee line between early Jazz and the newer swing Jazz. The mall differences between these two categories of Jazz are that In early Jazz, you were a lot less likely to have the big ban d feel to the music, and soloist played a more important role in early Jazz, whereas in the swing era, you were introduced to more FAA variety of instruments as well as new techniques on how to play them. Minus puts out good examples and songs/performances that clearly display how things transitioned from early Jazz to swing, and then onto other evolutions of jazz as well. After learning and hearing many of Charles Minings music, I definitely feel It Is book writers to come take note of Minings accomplishments, and start to include him in the history books right up there with Duke Longtime, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong. It is only fair to him and his fellow band mates, however, only time will tell.