The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, January 9, 1979-Page 7 Jazz titan Mingus dead By R.J. SMITH with wire reports The man who made, the bass as creative and expressive an instrumen- tal voice as any in jazz, the man who was perhaps both the consumate teacher and eccentric of Afro- American music is now dead, at the age of 56. According to a family spokesperson, jazz giant Charles Mingus died in Mexico City last Saturday from a heart attack preceeded by a long bout with a degenerative muscular condition known as Lou Gehrig's condition. At his request, his wife, Susan, took his ashes to the Himalayas and %cat- tered them in the Ganges, Mingus' agent said in New York yesterday. A memorial service will be held at a later date in New York. ALTHOUGH HE continued to work until when he died, Mingus had nearly become a complete recluse in recent years, largely because of his worsening illness. In the last year he had worked on a number of projects, including a series of pastoral tone poems which Joni Mit- chell is adding words to, a piece written for the Duke Ellington orchestra com- missioned by Eclipse Jazz, and his album Cumbia and Jazz Fusion. Mingus leaves behind a truly monumental and consistent body of music, although in his later years he of- ten complained to record companies that the vast body of his work had been put out of pressing for unfair reasons. Today, much of his musical legacy is impossible to find in record stores. The oft-reported reason for the blacklisting was Mingus' outspoken- ness. Since the begining of his career, he had gained a reputation for being Diversit (Continued from Page 6) emcee for the festival, filled in with in- troductory comments and remarks off the top of his head. It's true that San- ders didn't seem to fit in very well, that his comments were sometimes inane and far from funny, and that he lost his cool and became a little embarassing x with self-effacement toward the end of the Festival. There was really no ex- cuse, though, for some of the crowd to behave rudely toward Sanders who was doing his best in an unfamiliar situation as a favor to his friends at the Ark. THE FINAL ACT of both afternoon and evening performances was David Bromberg with his dazzling backup man, Dick Fegy. Between the two of them, they kicked out some of the most impressive instrumentals ever heard on any folk music stage. Bromberg was a tour de force on the guitar, and Fegy, as well as being the best fiddler and mandolin player of the day, didn't slouch on the guitar either. The two of them have worked out some intricate and interesting harmonies on the strings, and, during both performan- ces, they switched instruments alter- nately between verses to very in- teresting effect. one of the most candid jazz musicians, railing-through his music and to anyone who would listen-against racism, the music business, untalented musicians, and conformity. He organized benefits and festivals for political causes; once in the late fifties, unveiling an experimental piece of ex- tended improvisation to a night club audience that continued to talk, eat, and make noise throughout the piece, thoroughly ignoring Mingus and his band, the bassist stopped playing and said to the crowd "if you think what we're doing is weird, just take a look at yourselves." TO THE MUSICIANS in the countless groups he lead over the years, Mingus was often an explosive instructor, one who would think nothing of stopping a piece midway through a public perfor- mance to angrily berate a deficient sideman, even to the point of slapping him out of the way so that Mingus might show him the right way to play. "You had to keep stretching yourself while you were with Mingus," one for- mer sideman once said, "he just wouldn't let you coast. Even in public ... he'd yell at you in the middle of a solo to stop playing just licks and get in- to yourself. Christ, he had more con- fidence in what we were capable of than we had." BORN IN NOGALES, Ariz., and raised in Los Angeles, Mingus began studying the bass with Red Callender at the age of 16, and had received early training in several other instruments as well as in composition. His composing mastery was awesome. Blending the orchestral den- sity of composers such as Debussey, Ravel, and Strauss, with that of his lifelong idol Duke Ellington, he seemingly could write for any com- wV Join the Arts staff Q. What do the following people all have in common: Jean Wenner, Lorne Greene, John Wayne Gacy, Olivia Newton-John, and Jeff Selbst? A. They have all launched their careers writing for the Michigan Daily Arts page. (Well, Jeff Selbst anyway.) Now you too can write for the Daily, getting the chance to write for an audience, earn a (meager) salary, get in free to concerts, plays, movies, and receive all sorts of other freebies, and increase your understanding of the arts. We'll be having a meeting for all new people interested in writing for the Arts page this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Your interest in writing is the only essentil everything else can be learned. JA N NEMEC'S 196 MARTYRS OF LOVE Three humorous tales! Junior clerk rejected in love finds comfort from his adding machine; the soap opera fantasies of a maid; the adventures of Rudolf the Orphan, with the geriatic set. "This is the Czech equivalent of the kinkiest, most eclectic new American cinema-a nearly silent movie in the golden 20's manner, a patchwork of sight gags to Bach, soft rock and jazz."-Playboy. Short: S.F. to L.A. Richard Beveridge. 12 hours and 4000 frames of Pacific Coast Highway 1. WED: EASY LIVING & A SHORT Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG Charles Mingus bination of musicians, penning coun- tless works from brief songs to lengthy ballets. S"I am three," Mingus wrote in his autobiography. "One man stands forever in the middle, unconcerned, unmoved, watching, waiting to be allowed to express what he sees to the other two. The second man is like a frigtened animal that attacks for fear of being attacked. * "THEN THERE'S an over-loving gentle person who lets people into the uttermost sacred temple of his being and he'll take insults and be trusting and sign contracts without reading them and get talked down to working cheap or for nothing, and when he realizes what's been done to him he feels like killing and destroying everything around him including him- self for being so stupid. But he can't-he goes back inside himself." He would go back inside himself, and he would write some of the richest, most beautiful music, sounds that were both lovely and terribly unsettling. And now he will do it no more. As funny as any of the humor that streamed from his compositions is the thought that he could ever be replaced. CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT 7:00 & 9:O5 OLD ARCH. AUD. $1.50 ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE presents The Good' Person of Siec/iw by Bertholt Brecht Jan. 10-13 Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre $3.00 Special Student Rate. Wed. & Thurs. only CURTAIN 8 PM highlights Ark benefit The lanky, bearded Bromberg admit- ted that he "got weird roots," and showed the audience some blues, as well as some of the more traditional songs which came merrily out of his nose. While not exactly unpleasant, Bromberg's voice has an irritating edge which, if you love him, you say gives him his special flavor; but if you don't, you say a little of it goes a long way. The festival crowd was clearly on Bromberg's side for both concerts, and were on their feet after he was through. Dick Fegy, humble backstage, Iight have stolen the show had it not been for the live wire presence of Bromberg as he shook in front of the microphone, exhorted the audience to help him out on the sing-alongs, and skillfully con- trolled the tempo of his performance. THERE WERE many more highlights than performers at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. It was only because of their drawing power that Bromberg and Blake were given top billing and allowed to play in both shows, but it says a lot that the big drawing cards will freely lend their names and talents to a benefit concert. One can only hope that performers of equal stature will come to the rescue when the Ark calls for help again. "You can only ask an artist to do a benefit for you so often," said David Siglin as he discussed the financial future of the coffeehouse. Backers hope that Saturday's concerts converted a new group of regular listeners at the Ark and generated a few donating patrons. "As always, the future's un- certain." Responding to the insistence that "they wouldn't let the Ark close," Siglin smiled and shook his head, no doubt weary of even thinking of the possibility. "Yeah?" he said, "Just who are 'They')" 34 Per Copy at the paper Ch$se Michigan Union next to U-Cellar 665-8065 . ART 'STAFF Arts Editors owen gleiberman mike taylor staff writers; May Bacarella, Bill Barbour, Mark Dighton, Patricia Fabrizie, Diane Haith- man, Katie Herzfeld, Steve Hook, Mark Johans- son, Eleanora DiLiscia, Marty Levine, Rich Loranger, Dobilas Matunlionis, Anna Nissen, Joshua Peck, Christopher Potter, Alan Ruben- feld, Will Rubino, Anne Sharp, Renee Schil- cusky, Erick Smith, R.J. Smith, Tom Stephens, Keith Tosolt, Dan Weiss, Carol Wierzbicki, Timothy Yagle, Bruce Young, Eric Zorn. COME JOIN US AT For a different kind of learning experience MASS MEETINGS: TnPCdav _.Tn 16 fl. a - Does it really have to be this way? Not if you do your book rush buying at Ulrich's. Ulrich's has polite, friendly employees who will find your books for you and help you with your other supplies. And you won't have to hock your sirloin to pay for them. -Give Ulrich's a try this year.