''Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus'' is the autobiography of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bassist and composer

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

. It was first published in 1971, by

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

Background

Mingus worked on his autobiography for more than two decades. One newspaper indicated in October 1961 that the book "is due out in a couple of weeks". The following year, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that author Louis Lomax was collaborating with Mingus in the writing and editing of "an eight-year-old, portly, angry manuscript of 1,500 pages", and that publishers in France and Japan had bid for the book. The original proposed title was ''Memoirs of a Half Yellow Schitt Covered Nigger''. It was finally published by

in 1971. The published form, edited by Nel King, reduced the original manuscript by more than two thirds.Harrington, Richard (June 2, 1993) "Mementos of Mingus: Library of Congress Acquires Works of Composer". ''The Washington Post''. p. B1. Before editing, the typescript contained mostly dialog; a lot of the prose was formed during King's second edit. She chose to retain the pimp stories, thereby giving them greater prominence than in the original manuscript; this decision may have been related to the commercial success of Iceberg Slim's book, ''Pimp'', in the late 1960s.

Reception

The reviewer for the journal ''Notes'' commented that "the reader is forced to plow through page after page of erotica (some might label it pornography) in order to ferret out the most basic kind of information about the man and his music." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''s reviewer stated that the book is "sexual fantasy and tortured personality conflict", and complained that there was little information about Mingus' music or those he played with. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''s reviewer believed that "Mingus has made a contribution to recent American literature that even his well-wishers could not have anticipated", and stressed that the bassist had described "what it feels like to be an artist – actually ''be'' it, in a world that is not only trying to stop you being an artist but has tried to stop you being human in the first place." Writer

Toby Litt Toby Litt is an English writer and academic in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. Life Litt was born in Ampthill in 1968. He was educated at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxfor ...

stated that "His autobiography is that of a profoundly troubled, often bitter man who never feels loved enough but constantly undermines those loves offered to him." Mingus' last wife,

Sue Mingus Susan Mingus (née Graham, April 2, 1930 – September 24, 2022) was an American record producer and band manager. She was married to jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus, and formed tribute groups to perform his music after his death. She ...

, indicated that the book was an account of "the superficial Mingus, the flashy one, not the real one."Rockwell, John (January 9, 1979) "Charles Mingus, 56, Bass Player, Bandleader and Composer, Dead". ''The New York Times''. p. A1.

Legacy

The original manuscript was acquired, along with other material documenting Mingus' life, by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 1993. Readings from the book were included in

Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

's recording, ''Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus''.Fusilli, Jim (November 18, 1992) "On Records: Power Pop". ''The Wall Street Journal''. p. A14.

References

;Bibliography * {{Charles Mingus 1971 non-fiction books American autobiographies English-language books Jazz books

Background

Reception

Legacy

Further reading

See also

References