Charles Mingus – MRQE

Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Don McGlynn’s uncompromising and soulful documentary look at the tumultuous life of musician and rebel Charles Mingus is fascinating stuff. Mingus said of himself “I am half black man, half yellow man, but I claim to be a Negro. I am Charles Mingus, the famed jazz musician–but not famed enough to make a living in America.” His statement summed up the conflict that plagued this musical genius his entire life: volatility, pain, prescience, and raw rage roiled inside a complex man, composer, bass player, and trombonist who transcended labels and refused to be pigeonholed into a single musical style–and who did not achieve real fame until late in his career.

Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

A close-up of bass player and composer Charlie Mingus as he and his five-year-old daughter await eviction by the City of New York.

Billie

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Lady Day was one of the greatest jazz vocalists the world ever heard. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. The tapes have never been heard. Now they form the basis of an atmospheric, multi-layered documentary that captures the many complex facets of a proud black woman, violent drug addict, loyal friend, vindictive lover and unforgettable singer of God Bless The Child, Saddest Tale and the haunting Strange Fruit.