Charles Mingus was one of the true greats, creating a new kind of jazz that
knitted a traditional style built on gospel music with a very modern, free-form
approach that effectively defied categorization; but had a huge impact and
influence on both his contemporaries and subsequent generations. Born at an army
base in Arizona, Mingus was primarily raised in Los Angeles, growing up
listening to church music, although his most influential hero was Duke
Ellington. He studied trombone and cello and initially had aspirations to
specialise in playing classical cello but moved on to dou...