Author: Dorothy Elizabeth Moore Bernay
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1300061804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153
Book Description
Abraham Mingus, son of Gerge Mingus, was born in about 1781 in North Carolina. He married Rebecca Stillwell. He died in about 1859 in Newton, Missouri.
One Mingus Family of the Great Smoky Mountains
Author: Dorothy Elizabeth Moore Bernay
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1300061804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153
Book Description
Abraham Mingus, son of Gerge Mingus, was born in about 1781 in North Carolina. He married Rebecca Stillwell. He died in about 1859 in Newton, Missouri.
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1300061804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153
Book Description
Abraham Mingus, son of Gerge Mingus, was born in about 1781 in North Carolina. He married Rebecca Stillwell. He died in about 1859 in Newton, Missouri.
Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains
Author: Kenneth Wise
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 1621900681
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 540
Book Description
Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains is an essential guide to one of America’s most breathtaking and rugged national parks. The second edition of this compellingly readable and useful book is completely updated, giving outdoor enthusiasts the most current information they need to explore this world-renowned wilderness. Included here are facts on more than 125 official trails recognized by the Park Service. Each one has its own setting, purpose, style, and theme, and author Kenneth Wise describes them in rich and vivid detail. For every route, he includes a set of driving directions to the trailhead, major points of interest, a schedule of distances to each one, a comprehensive outline of the trail’s course, specifics about where it begins and ends, references to the U.S. Geological Survey’s quadrangle maps, and, when available, historical anecdotes relating to the trail. His colorful descriptions of the area’s awe-inspiring beauty are sure to captivate even armchair travelers. Organized by sections that roughly correspond to the seventeen major watersheds in the Smokies, Wise starts in Tennessee and moves south into North Carolina, with two major trails—the Lakeshore and the Appalachian—that traverse several watersheds treated independently. Further enhancing the utility of this volume is the inclusion of the Great Smoky Mountains’ official trail map as well as an informative introduction filled with details about the geology, climate, vegetation, wildlife, human history, and environmental concerns of the region. A seasoned outdoorsman with more than thirty years of experience in the area and codirector of the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Wise brings an exceptional depth of knowledge to this guide. Both experienced hikers and novices will find this newly revised edition an invaluable resource for trekking in the splendor of the Smokies.
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 1621900681
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 540
Book Description
Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains is an essential guide to one of America’s most breathtaking and rugged national parks. The second edition of this compellingly readable and useful book is completely updated, giving outdoor enthusiasts the most current information they need to explore this world-renowned wilderness. Included here are facts on more than 125 official trails recognized by the Park Service. Each one has its own setting, purpose, style, and theme, and author Kenneth Wise describes them in rich and vivid detail. For every route, he includes a set of driving directions to the trailhead, major points of interest, a schedule of distances to each one, a comprehensive outline of the trail’s course, specifics about where it begins and ends, references to the U.S. Geological Survey’s quadrangle maps, and, when available, historical anecdotes relating to the trail. His colorful descriptions of the area’s awe-inspiring beauty are sure to captivate even armchair travelers. Organized by sections that roughly correspond to the seventeen major watersheds in the Smokies, Wise starts in Tennessee and moves south into North Carolina, with two major trails—the Lakeshore and the Appalachian—that traverse several watersheds treated independently. Further enhancing the utility of this volume is the inclusion of the Great Smoky Mountains’ official trail map as well as an informative introduction filled with details about the geology, climate, vegetation, wildlife, human history, and environmental concerns of the region. A seasoned outdoorsman with more than thirty years of experience in the area and codirector of the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Wise brings an exceptional depth of knowledge to this guide. Both experienced hikers and novices will find this newly revised edition an invaluable resource for trekking in the splendor of the Smokies.
Oconaluftee
Author: Elizabeth Giddens
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469673428
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The Oconaluftee Valley, located on the North Carolina side of the Smokies, is home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). This seemingly isolated valley has an epic tale to tell. Always a desirable place to settle, hunt, gather, farm, and live, the valley and its people have played an integral role in some of the greatest dramas of the colonial era, the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War era. The experiences of turn-of-the-twentieth-century industrial logging alongside the national park movement show how land-use trends changed communities and families. Though the valley saw its share of conflict, its residents often lived like neighbors, sharing resources and acting cooperatively for mutual benefit and survival. They demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of threats to their existence. Elizabeth Giddens offers a deeply researched and elegantly written account of Oconaluftee and its people from Indigenous settlements to the establishment of the national park by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. She builds the tale from archives, census records, property records, personal memoirs, and more, showing how national events affected all Oconaluftee's people—Indigenous, Black, and white.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469673428
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The Oconaluftee Valley, located on the North Carolina side of the Smokies, is home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). This seemingly isolated valley has an epic tale to tell. Always a desirable place to settle, hunt, gather, farm, and live, the valley and its people have played an integral role in some of the greatest dramas of the colonial era, the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War era. The experiences of turn-of-the-twentieth-century industrial logging alongside the national park movement show how land-use trends changed communities and families. Though the valley saw its share of conflict, its residents often lived like neighbors, sharing resources and acting cooperatively for mutual benefit and survival. They demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of threats to their existence. Elizabeth Giddens offers a deeply researched and elegantly written account of Oconaluftee and its people from Indigenous settlements to the establishment of the national park by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. She builds the tale from archives, census records, property records, personal memoirs, and more, showing how national events affected all Oconaluftee's people—Indigenous, Black, and white.
Myself When I am Real
Author: Gene Santoro
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198025785
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 479
Book Description
Charles Mingus was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the 20th Century, and ranks with Ives and 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 lovers and close friends knew. A pioneering bassist and composer, Mingus redefined jazz's terrain. He penned over 300 works spanning gutbucket gospel, Colombian cumbias, orchestral tone poems, multimedia performance, and chamber jazz. By the time he was 35, his growing body of music won increasing attention as it unfolded into one pioneering musical venture after another, from classical-meets-jazz extended pieces to spoken-word and dramatic performances and television and movie soundtracks. Though critics and musicians debated his musical merits and his personality, by the late 1950s he was widely recognized as a major jazz star, a bellwether whose combined grasp of tradition and feel for change poured his inventive creativity into new musical outlets. But Mingus got headlines less for his art than for his volatile and often provocative behavior, which drew fans who wanted to watch his temper suddenly flare onstage. Impromptu outbursts and speeches formed an integral part of his long-running jazz workshop, modeled partly on dramatic models like Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Keeping up with the organized chaos of Mingus's art demanded gymnastic improvisational skills and openness from his musicians-which is why some of them called it "the Sweatshop." He hired and fired musicians on the bandstand, attacked a few musicians physically and many more verbally, twice threw Lionel Hampton's drummer off the stage, and routinely harangued chattering audiences, once chasing a table of inattentive patrons out of the FIVE SPOT with a meat cleaver. But the musical and mental challenges this volcanic man set his bands also nurtured deep loyalties. Key sidemen stayed with him for years and even decades. In this biography, Santoro probes the sore spots in Mingus's easily wounded nature that helped make him so explosive: his bullying father, his interracial background, his vulnerability to women and distrust of men, his views of political and social issues, his overwhelming need for love and acceptance. Of black, white, and Asian descent, Mingus made race a central issue in his life as well as a crucial aspect of his music, becoming an outspoken (and often misunderstood) critic of racial injustice. Santoro gives us a vivid portrait of Mingus's development, from the racially mixed Watts where he mingled with artists and writers as well as mobsters, union toughs, and pimps to the artistic ferment of postwar Greenwich Village, where he absorbed and extended the radical improvisation flowing through the work of Allen Ginsberg, Jackson Pollock, and Charlie Parker. Indeed, unlike Most jazz biographers, Santoro examines Mingus's extra-musical influences--from Orson Welles to Langston Hughes, Farwell Taylor, and Timothy Leary--and illuminates his achievement in the broader cultural context it demands. 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.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198025785
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 479
Book Description
Charles Mingus was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the 20th Century, and ranks with Ives and 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 lovers and close friends knew. A pioneering bassist and composer, Mingus redefined jazz's terrain. He penned over 300 works spanning gutbucket gospel, Colombian cumbias, orchestral tone poems, multimedia performance, and chamber jazz. By the time he was 35, his growing body of music won increasing attention as it unfolded into one pioneering musical venture after another, from classical-meets-jazz extended pieces to spoken-word and dramatic performances and television and movie soundtracks. Though critics and musicians debated his musical merits and his personality, by the late 1950s he was widely recognized as a major jazz star, a bellwether whose combined grasp of tradition and feel for change poured his inventive creativity into new musical outlets. But Mingus got headlines less for his art than for his volatile and often provocative behavior, which drew fans who wanted to watch his temper suddenly flare onstage. Impromptu outbursts and speeches formed an integral part of his long-running jazz workshop, modeled partly on dramatic models like Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Keeping up with the organized chaos of Mingus's art demanded gymnastic improvisational skills and openness from his musicians-which is why some of them called it "the Sweatshop." He hired and fired musicians on the bandstand, attacked a few musicians physically and many more verbally, twice threw Lionel Hampton's drummer off the stage, and routinely harangued chattering audiences, once chasing a table of inattentive patrons out of the FIVE SPOT with a meat cleaver. But the musical and mental challenges this volcanic man set his bands also nurtured deep loyalties. Key sidemen stayed with him for years and even decades. In this biography, Santoro probes the sore spots in Mingus's easily wounded nature that helped make him so explosive: his bullying father, his interracial background, his vulnerability to women and distrust of men, his views of political and social issues, his overwhelming need for love and acceptance. Of black, white, and Asian descent, Mingus made race a central issue in his life as well as a crucial aspect of his music, becoming an outspoken (and often misunderstood) critic of racial injustice. Santoro gives us a vivid portrait of Mingus's development, from the racially mixed Watts where he mingled with artists and writers as well as mobsters, union toughs, and pimps to the artistic ferment of postwar Greenwich Village, where he absorbed and extended the radical improvisation flowing through the work of Allen Ginsberg, Jackson Pollock, and Charlie Parker. Indeed, unlike Most jazz biographers, Santoro examines Mingus's extra-musical influences--from Orson Welles to Langston Hughes, Farwell Taylor, and Timothy Leary--and illuminates his achievement in the broader cultural context it demands. 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.
At home in the Smokies : a history handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee
Author: United States. National Park Service
Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 138
Book Description
"At Home in the Smokies: A History Handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee" is a comprehensive guide to the history and cultural significance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This handbook, produced by the National Park Service with contributions from Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely, provides valuable information about the park’s history, natural environment, and cultural heritage. The book includes detailed accounts of the park's development, its significance to the local communities, and the various historical events that have shaped its current state. It serves as both a historical reference and a practical guide for visitors, offering insights into the park’s natural beauty and historical context. "At Home in the Smokies" is an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the broader cultural and ecological narratives of the region.
Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 138
Book Description
"At Home in the Smokies: A History Handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee" is a comprehensive guide to the history and cultural significance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This handbook, produced by the National Park Service with contributions from Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely, provides valuable information about the park’s history, natural environment, and cultural heritage. The book includes detailed accounts of the park's development, its significance to the local communities, and the various historical events that have shaped its current state. It serves as both a historical reference and a practical guide for visitors, offering insights into the park’s natural beauty and historical context. "At Home in the Smokies" is an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the broader cultural and ecological narratives of the region.
At home in the Smokies : a history handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee
Author: United States. National Park Servicea
Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
Immerse Yourself in the Rich History of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies' Step into the past and explore the vibrant history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies.' This comprehensive handbook, authored by the United States National Park Service in collaboration with Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely, offers readers an in-depth look at the cultural, environmental, and historical significance of this beloved national treasure. Discover the Stories of the Land and Its People 'At Home in the Smokies' is more than just a history handbook—it's a journey through time, tracing the footsteps of the people who have called the Great Smoky Mountains home for centuries. From the indigenous Cherokee tribes to the early settlers and pioneers, each chapter offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives and cultures that have shaped the landscape of the Smokies. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous research, the authors bring to life the struggles and triumphs of those who have lived in the shadow of these majestic mountains. From tales of resilience and perseverance to stories of innovation and adaptation, 'At Home in the Smokies' celebrates the rich tapestry of human history that is woven into the fabric of the park. Explore the Natural Beauty and Cultural Heritage of the Park Beyond its captivating history, 'At Home in the Smokies' also serves as a guide to the natural wonders and cultural landmarks that make Great Smoky Mountains National Park a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Readers will discover hidden waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and historic homesteads nestled among the lush forests and rolling hills of the Smokies. With detailed maps, stunning photographs, and insightful commentary, the handbook invites readers to embark on their own journey of exploration and discovery within the park. Whether hiking along the Appalachian Trail, touring historic cabins, or simply taking in the breathtaking vistas, 'At Home in the Smokies' offers something for every nature lover and history enthusiast. Why 'At Home in the Smokies' Is a Must-Read for Park Enthusiasts: Comprehensive Coverage: Gain a deep understanding of the history, culture, and natural beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park through this meticulously researched handbook. Engaging Narrative: Enjoy captivating storytelling that brings the past to life, with vivid descriptions and personal anecdotes that transport readers to another time and place. Practical Guide: Use the handbook as a valuable resource for planning your own adventures in the Smokies, with detailed maps, trail descriptions, and insider tips from park experts. Preserving Heritage: Celebrate the importance of conservation and heritage preservation, as 'At Home in the Smokies' highlights the efforts to protect and maintain the park for future generations.Don't miss your chance to delve into the history and beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies.' Whether you're a seasoned park enthusiast or a first-time visitor, this handbook is sure to deepen your appreciation for one of America's most beloved natural treasures.
Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
Immerse Yourself in the Rich History of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies' Step into the past and explore the vibrant history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies.' This comprehensive handbook, authored by the United States National Park Service in collaboration with Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely, offers readers an in-depth look at the cultural, environmental, and historical significance of this beloved national treasure. Discover the Stories of the Land and Its People 'At Home in the Smokies' is more than just a history handbook—it's a journey through time, tracing the footsteps of the people who have called the Great Smoky Mountains home for centuries. From the indigenous Cherokee tribes to the early settlers and pioneers, each chapter offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives and cultures that have shaped the landscape of the Smokies. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous research, the authors bring to life the struggles and triumphs of those who have lived in the shadow of these majestic mountains. From tales of resilience and perseverance to stories of innovation and adaptation, 'At Home in the Smokies' celebrates the rich tapestry of human history that is woven into the fabric of the park. Explore the Natural Beauty and Cultural Heritage of the Park Beyond its captivating history, 'At Home in the Smokies' also serves as a guide to the natural wonders and cultural landmarks that make Great Smoky Mountains National Park a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Readers will discover hidden waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and historic homesteads nestled among the lush forests and rolling hills of the Smokies. With detailed maps, stunning photographs, and insightful commentary, the handbook invites readers to embark on their own journey of exploration and discovery within the park. Whether hiking along the Appalachian Trail, touring historic cabins, or simply taking in the breathtaking vistas, 'At Home in the Smokies' offers something for every nature lover and history enthusiast. Why 'At Home in the Smokies' Is a Must-Read for Park Enthusiasts: Comprehensive Coverage: Gain a deep understanding of the history, culture, and natural beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park through this meticulously researched handbook. Engaging Narrative: Enjoy captivating storytelling that brings the past to life, with vivid descriptions and personal anecdotes that transport readers to another time and place. Practical Guide: Use the handbook as a valuable resource for planning your own adventures in the Smokies, with detailed maps, trail descriptions, and insider tips from park experts. Preserving Heritage: Celebrate the importance of conservation and heritage preservation, as 'At Home in the Smokies' highlights the efforts to protect and maintain the park for future generations.Don't miss your chance to delve into the history and beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 'At Home in the Smokies.' Whether you're a seasoned park enthusiast or a first-time visitor, this handbook is sure to deepen your appreciation for one of America's most beloved natural treasures.
A Cades Cove Childhood
Author: Margaret McCaulley
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625843771
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 111
Book Description
One of the last residents of the Smoky Mountain town frozen in time tells of life in a community that few have seen. The remote Smoky Mountain community of Cades Cove still lives in the memory of J.C. McCaulley, one of the few remaining former residents, who offers an exclusive glimpse into a childhood in the Cove. His stories, compiled by his wife Margaret, are a testament to a way of life long abandoned - a life before automobiles, television and perhaps too much exposure to the outside world; a life of hard work and caring for your neighbors. Join the McCaulleys in their quest to preserve the beauty, tranquility and traditions of this pristine community, and dare to dream of a way of life that encouraged independence, integrity and the courage to overcome adversity.
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625843771
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 111
Book Description
One of the last residents of the Smoky Mountain town frozen in time tells of life in a community that few have seen. The remote Smoky Mountain community of Cades Cove still lives in the memory of J.C. McCaulley, one of the few remaining former residents, who offers an exclusive glimpse into a childhood in the Cove. His stories, compiled by his wife Margaret, are a testament to a way of life long abandoned - a life before automobiles, television and perhaps too much exposure to the outside world; a life of hard work and caring for your neighbors. Join the McCaulleys in their quest to preserve the beauty, tranquility and traditions of this pristine community, and dare to dream of a way of life that encouraged independence, integrity and the courage to overcome adversity.
Myself When I Am Real
Author: Gene Santoro
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190287241
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 480
Book Description
Charles Mingus was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the 20th Century, and ranks with Ives and 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 lovers and close friends knew. A pioneering bassist and composer, Mingus redefined jazz's terrain. He penned over 300 works spanning gutbucket gospel, Colombian cumbias, orchestral tone poems, multimedia performance, and chamber jazz. By the time he was 35, his growing body of music won increasing attention as it unfolded into one pioneering musical venture after another, from classical-meets-jazz extended pieces to spoken-word and dramatic performances and television and movie soundtracks. Though critics and musicians debated his musical merits and his personality, by the late 1950s he was widely recognized as a major jazz star, a bellwether whose combined grasp of tradition and feel for change poured his inventive creativity into new musical outlets. But Mingus got headlines less for his art than for his volatile and often provocative behavior, which drew fans who wanted to watch his temper suddenly flare onstage. Impromptu outbursts and speeches formed an integral part of his long-running jazz workshop, modeled partly on dramatic models like Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Keeping up with the organized chaos of Mingus's art demanded gymnastic improvisational skills and openness from his musicians-which is why some of them called it "the Sweatshop." He hired and fired musicians on the bandstand, attacked a few musicians physically and many more verbally, twice threw Lionel Hampton's drummer off the stage, and routinely harangued chattering audiences, once chasing a table of inattentive patrons out of the FIVE SPOT with a meat cleaver. But the musical and mental challenges this volcanic man set his bands also nurtured deep loyalties. Key sidemen stayed with him for years and even decades. In this biography, Santoro probes the sore spots in Mingus's easily wounded nature that helped make him so explosive: his bullying father, his interracial background, his vulnerability to women and distrust of men, his views of political and social issues, his overwhelming need for love and acceptance. Of black, white, and Asian descent, Mingus made race a central issue in his life as well as a crucial aspect of his music, becoming an outspoken (and often misunderstood) critic of racial injustice. Santoro gives us a vivid portrait of Mingus's development, from the racially mixed Watts where he mingled with artists and writers as well as mobsters, union toughs, and pimps to the artistic ferment of postwar Greenwich Village, where he absorbed and extended the radical improvisation flowing through the work of Allen Ginsberg, Jackson Pollock, and Charlie Parker. Indeed, unlike Most jazz biographers, Santoro examines Mingus's extra-musical influences--from Orson Welles to Langston Hughes, Farwell Taylor, and Timothy Leary--and illuminates his achievement in the broader cultural context it demands. 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.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190287241
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 480
Book Description
Charles Mingus was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the 20th Century, and ranks with Ives and 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 lovers and close friends knew. A pioneering bassist and composer, Mingus redefined jazz's terrain. He penned over 300 works spanning gutbucket gospel, Colombian cumbias, orchestral tone poems, multimedia performance, and chamber jazz. By the time he was 35, his growing body of music won increasing attention as it unfolded into one pioneering musical venture after another, from classical-meets-jazz extended pieces to spoken-word and dramatic performances and television and movie soundtracks. Though critics and musicians debated his musical merits and his personality, by the late 1950s he was widely recognized as a major jazz star, a bellwether whose combined grasp of tradition and feel for change poured his inventive creativity into new musical outlets. But Mingus got headlines less for his art than for his volatile and often provocative behavior, which drew fans who wanted to watch his temper suddenly flare onstage. Impromptu outbursts and speeches formed an integral part of his long-running jazz workshop, modeled partly on dramatic models like Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Keeping up with the organized chaos of Mingus's art demanded gymnastic improvisational skills and openness from his musicians-which is why some of them called it "the Sweatshop." He hired and fired musicians on the bandstand, attacked a few musicians physically and many more verbally, twice threw Lionel Hampton's drummer off the stage, and routinely harangued chattering audiences, once chasing a table of inattentive patrons out of the FIVE SPOT with a meat cleaver. But the musical and mental challenges this volcanic man set his bands also nurtured deep loyalties. Key sidemen stayed with him for years and even decades. In this biography, Santoro probes the sore spots in Mingus's easily wounded nature that helped make him so explosive: his bullying father, his interracial background, his vulnerability to women and distrust of men, his views of political and social issues, his overwhelming need for love and acceptance. Of black, white, and Asian descent, Mingus made race a central issue in his life as well as a crucial aspect of his music, becoming an outspoken (and often misunderstood) critic of racial injustice. Santoro gives us a vivid portrait of Mingus's development, from the racially mixed Watts where he mingled with artists and writers as well as mobsters, union toughs, and pimps to the artistic ferment of postwar Greenwich Village, where he absorbed and extended the radical improvisation flowing through the work of Allen Ginsberg, Jackson Pollock, and Charlie Parker. Indeed, unlike Most jazz biographers, Santoro examines Mingus's extra-musical influences--from Orson Welles to Langston Hughes, Farwell Taylor, and Timothy Leary--and illuminates his achievement in the broader cultural context it demands. 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.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Author: United States. National Park Service
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Smoky Mountains National Park (N.C. and Tenn.)
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Smoky Mountains National Park (N.C. and Tenn.)
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Author:
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
ISBN: 9781558681262
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
ISBN: 9781558681262
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description