Music with Ease > Jazz Quotes > Charles Mingus Quotes

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"Good jazz is when the leader jumps on the piano, waves his arms, and yells. Fine jazz is when a tenorman lifts his foot in the air. Great jazz is when he heaves a piercing note for 32 bars and collapses on his hands and knees. A pure genius of jazz is manifested when he and the rest of the orchestra run around the room while the rhythm section grimaces and dances around their instruments."
-- Charles Mingus

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."
-- Charles Mingus

"They're singing your praises while stealing your phrases."
-- Charles Mingus

"Tastes are created by business interests. How else can you explain the popularity of Al Hirt?"
-- Charles Mingus

"Everything I do is Mingus."
-- Charles Mingus

"I am Charles Mingus, half black man, not even white enough to pass for nothing but black. I am Charles Mingus, a famed jazzman, but not famed enough to make a living in this society."
-- Charles Mingus





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Author: David Paul Wagner
(David Paul Wagner on Google+)