Sue Mingus and the Mingus Big Band: Letting Our Children Hear Music
Sean MurphyThe Mingus Big Band is bigger than most big bands because they play the music of Charles Mingus. Of the many words one could use to describe Mingus, (and one…
Ten Ways of Looking at Four Decades
I. Listen: When some of your best friends are people who exist elsewhere—characters in books you’ve read, musicians you’ll never meet, people from the past who died decades (even centuries)…
What’s It All About, Then? Part One: Jazz, Featuring Eric Dolphy
Question: What's it all about? Answer: I don't know. But I do know a few things. I know some of the things that make me tick. Even though I write…
Isn’t Being Irreplaceable The Whole Point?
This weekend I had the chance to hang out with some good friends, some of whom I used to work with (the happy occasion was a party following the baptism…
Mingus Ah Um: An Open Letter to the 20th Century
1959 was, by any measure, a watershed year for jazz music. Some all-time great recordings were released during this year, including Kind Of Blue (Miles Davis), Giant Steps (John Coltrane),…
February 19, 1942
On this day in 1942 Executive Order 9066 was issued. That is, the infamous presidential/executive order that, validated by America's state of war, gave a president (FDR) the power to consign…