Synopses & Reviews
Charles Mingus was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the 20th century, and ranks with Charles Ives and Duke Ellington as one of America's greatest composers. By temperament, he was a high-strung and sensitive romantic, a towering figure whose tempestuous personal life found powerfully coherent expression in the ever-shifting textures of his music. Now, acclaimed music critic Gene Santoro strips away the myths shrouding "Jazz's Angry Man," revealing Mingus as more complex than even his close friends knew. Written in a lively, novelistic style, Myself When I Am Real draws on dozens of new interviews and previously untapped letters and archival materials to explore the intricate connections between this extraordinary man and the extraordinary music he made.
Review
"Physically bearish and imposing, Mingus always seemed even larger psychically, a figure to fill the room, alter the vibes, suck up all the aira cross between Falstaff and Othello. In his marvelous hall of mirrors,
Myself When I Am Real, Gene Santoro has grasped him whole, or at least as whole as one can expect from mere prose. Some passages suggest the hammering rhythms of a drum solo, others the sprawl of a Mingusian piano meditation. It is a stunning achievement." --Gary Giddins, author of
Visions of Jazz: The First CenturyReview
"The definitive Mingus biography."--The Boston Book Review
"The best examination yet of an American original."--Washington Post
"The great bassist and composer's wild, turbulent life [is] wonderfully captured by Santoro....In sharp and lively prose, [he] digs deep into Mingus' past to sort out the strands of his life..."--Rolling Stone
"As Mingus's story unfolds, Santoro keeps the backbeat with perspectives on the socio-political churnings over those years, all of which affected Mingus's life and music....Santoro is on target, and his writing...soars."--The Boston Globe
"This is a biography as gargantuan in scope and ambition as Mingus himself, and highly recommended."--The Seattle Times
"Written with the elegant hand of an experienced journalist and the insight of a musician with first-rate ears, the book accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of casting a revealing light upon the inner life of its enigmatic subject."--Los Angeles Times
"Santoro brings his readers into the mind of this conflicted genius."--The Philadelphia Inquirer
Synopsis
Includes bibliographic references (p.391-399) and index.
About the Author
A former Fulbright scholar, book editor, and musician,
Gene Santoro is a music critic at the
New York Daily News and columnist at
The Nation and
Chamber Music. The author of
Dancing in Your Head and
Stir It Up, he has written articles and essays for
The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Spin, Rolling Stone, and Down Beat. He divides his time between New York City and Shokan, New York.