Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus: Amazon.ca: Charles Mingus: Books

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A wild, lyrical, and anguished autobiography, in which Charles Mingus pays short shrift to the facts but plunges to the very bottom of his psyche, coming up for air only when it pleases him. He takes the reader through his childhood in Watts, his musical education by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker, and his prodigious appetites--intellectual, culinary, and sexual. The book is a jumble, but a glorious one, by a certified American genius.

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A bit unclear sometimes, yet a great book, Mar 29 2003

By

Nimrod (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus (Paperback)

I didn't really know what to expect when I opened this book. It was the first time that I've opened a musician's autobiography, and I thought it might have an examination of how he developed his style, how did he decide to play the instrument, etc. This book was a good surprise. Mingus is hardly focusing the music, though it is always there, and choosing to tell us about everything that's around it. It seems as if he knows that the reader is probably familiar with his music, and is trying to make us understand WHY his music is as it is, and it's a smart move. The autobiography sort of completes the music, adding a missing half to it, making me understand Mingus the man, and through it understand better Mingus the artist.

The book is written wonderfully, Mingus' writing is brilliant, and the story sweeps you with him and you thank God for it being such a small book or you might've missing a month from reading it rather than a day. Some things are not totally clear, and some things are not explained, but yet, it is a great book, deals with love, crime, blacks and whites, jazz, madness, and the conclusion, which is expressed in the title, that love, for friends, women or for music is the only thing that's really important, and if you dig it, you could find happiness.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Mingus is the man but this book is depressing, Nov 8 2002

By

Peter Panagakos (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus (Paperback)

Get the Miles Davis autobiography instead,,,,
this one is a downer

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4.0 out of 5 stars So you want to know about old Chazz, uh?, Sep 25 2002

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virgilio venditti (Italy, Avezzano (AQ)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus (Paperback)

Well, I must say that at first I was "misplaced" by this book: as an amateur bassplayer myself, if not a list of the songs and records, I would have expected a more "music oriented" book, since a musician (and a real genius) wrote it. Fact is that in the end you can't really separate the "life" from the "Charlie Mingus" icon itself and the music is therefore treated as a very far background. The private life of the man, especially his tormented rapport with the women, the father, along the road friends, take center stage. The most meaningful part of the book is the last quarter or so, in which he seems to open up a little more and you can sneak a peek into the man's secret very soul.
Not what imagined, but well worth the cost anyhow. It does offer a different point of view and gives Charles his right "human touch". It is also useful to the people that live outside the USA (like me and a few others!) simple, raw, precise elements to better understand the racial conflict in the Usa.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A review from a fellow musician.
My mother just bought me this book and it kept me reading way into the night. 4 am sounds right. But I have to concure with the monroe, MI reader about this book. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Review
I am unsure how to digest this book. If you like a good novel, you may be interested. He looses any real direction with this book, by his obsession with sex. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2002