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Mingus/Mingus: Two Memoirs
Janet Coleman and Al Young first met Charles Mingus in the 1950s at the University of Michigan. From there they followed him to New York, sitting in on Mingus’s workshops and meeting leading jazz artists. Throughout, their friendship gave them a rare view into Mingus and the social and creative forces that informed his art. This joint memoir provides a candid, unforgettable portrait of Mingus suffused with warmth, affection, and humor.
187 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 11, 2018
Full of funny Mingus anecdotes from Coleman and Al Young. Coleman's memoir is also an interesting window on the New York Jazz and performing (and performance) art world of the 60s-70s. Liked Young's section about his growing up as a music and Jazz fan during the 50s in Detroit.
May 5, 2021
Decent quick read. Mostly light hearted reflections and anecdotes. Will inspire me to give fresh listens to Charles recordings I haven't spent much time with..his early and late recordings.
August 10, 2025
Free-flowing and personal (like jazz, dare I say); it's an amazing photobook of snapshots into Mingus's life.
September 8, 2008
Memoirs from two friends, Janet Coleman and Al Young, who knew Mingus when they were young adults and he was considerably older. This is not a heavy-duty bio, but a series of impressionistic sketches. Despite its flaws, it did add to my understanding of Mingus and there are some worthwhile parts. It reads like a couple of long magazine profiles, rather than a full book. It's an easy, light, quick read; however, the flaws are not insignificant. I would not recommend picking up this book to start learning about Mingus; if you are already a little familiar with his story, it might be worth looking at.
I wasn't familiar with either writer before this book. The Janet Coleman part is the better of the two. I think anyone who is interested in Mingus and has read Beneath the Underdog might enjoy the Coleman section.
The Al Young part ends up being a bit too much about how great Al Young is, plus it is chock full of really bad writing about jazz. (If someone hasn't already done so, there needs to be a bibliography of crappy writing about jazz. Or an anthology. There is not as much crappy writing about jazz as there is about rock, but sheesh, crappy writing about jazz might make up in crappiness what it lacks in sheer volume.)
I wasn't familiar with either writer before this book. The Janet Coleman part is the better of the two. I think anyone who is interested in Mingus and has read Beneath the Underdog might enjoy the Coleman section.
The Al Young part ends up being a bit too much about how great Al Young is, plus it is chock full of really bad writing about jazz. (If someone hasn't already done so, there needs to be a bibliography of crappy writing about jazz. Or an anthology. There is not as much crappy writing about jazz as there is about rock, but sheesh, crappy writing about jazz might make up in crappiness what it lacks in sheer volume.)
October 17, 2018
I think this is one of those great books that you enjoy so very much. For those you have heard the word 'jazz' or heard jazz music, this is a treat.
Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an important composer and bass player. "In music", writes one of the two donors to this memoir, "his own approach to rhythm was: 'You draw a picture away from the beat right up to its core with different notes of different sounds of the drum instruments so continuously that the core is always there for an open mind. . . if one tries to stay inside the dead center or directly on top of the beat or on the bottom, the beat is too rigid on the outside where it is heard.'"
"I'm riding that wild Mingusuan horse again. You might call it Pegasus but, call it what you will, it sounds and smells like the roaring-train facet of Mingus's diamond sound; purr and thunder, tiptoe and clickety-clackety--and whenever I'm immersed in Time Square or time squared, I can always hear and feel and rush with it down and around the tracks of my years", writes the second contributor.
Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an important composer and bass player. "In music", writes one of the two donors to this memoir, "his own approach to rhythm was: 'You draw a picture away from the beat right up to its core with different notes of different sounds of the drum instruments so continuously that the core is always there for an open mind. . . if one tries to stay inside the dead center or directly on top of the beat or on the bottom, the beat is too rigid on the outside where it is heard.'"
"I'm riding that wild Mingusuan horse again. You might call it Pegasus but, call it what you will, it sounds and smells like the roaring-train facet of Mingus's diamond sound; purr and thunder, tiptoe and clickety-clackety--and whenever I'm immersed in Time Square or time squared, I can always hear and feel and rush with it down and around the tracks of my years", writes the second contributor.
June 11, 2014
I like Janet Coleman's writing -- the beat sensitivity fits the subject. Mingus was one of the most interesting people who ever lived, so anyone hanging around him could gather enough material for a novel in just a day or two. Just starting the Al Young half of the book...
October 30, 2012
Two short, poetic and personal takes on Mingus and on the times in which he lived. Includes Mingus's recipe for eggnog! Good find.
July 12, 2013
Great little book by two young admirers of Mingus. Each one met Mingus and became his friend. Short but well drawn vignettes of the jazz giant.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews