Mingus/Mingus: Two Memoirs

Charles Mingus was one of the greatest talents in the jazz world, as a bassist, bandleader, and composer. Mingus comes to life again through these two memoirs written by two of his friends. "This book is a breezy but heartfelt tribute to an arascible talent, a collection as passionate and unruly as its subject...funny, respectful and revealing." - The New York Times Book Review

A double-barreled memoir from two writers who were befriended by Charles Mingus during the late 1950s. Both Coleman and Young revered the composer, who (in Coleman's words) "viewed music as an elixir, an antidote to the poison, [and] a religious calling." But they're not too reverent to overlook Mingus's eccentricities, which included hitting the streets of New York with a bow, a quiver, and a suitcase full of extra arrows. This is a funny, touching, and instructive book.