By HELEN DALRYMPLE
The Library celebrated its most important acquisition of a manuscript collection relating to jazz in its history with a press conference and a concert during the first week of June.
Sue Graham Mingus, who sold the collection to the Library and who has taken an active role in perpetuating performance of -- and interest in -- her late husband's music, chose the Library of Congress as the repository of the Mingus Collection.
At the June 1 press conference she thanked the Library of Congress, specifically James Pruett and Jon Newsom, chief and assistant chief of the Music Division, "for making this acquisition possible and for assuring that Mingus's works will be accessible to musicians and scholars and to the public at large for many years to come."
Winston Tabb, associate librarian for Collections Services, made clear that the Library intends to make active use of the extraordinary Mingus Collection.
"It is the Library's intention," said Mr. Tabb, to promote the music of Mingus not simply by acting as the conservators of the paper, tapes, photographs and other wonderful materials which make up the collection and of which we have examples here; rather, we intend to promote the Mingus creative legacy by performances, recordings, lectures and publications so that his art can be better, and more fully, and even more appropriately, appreciated by the public we serve."
The collection consists of original music manuscripts, arranger's scores, instrumental parts, tape recordings, photographs, literary manuscripts and other memorabilia documenting the career of bassist Charles Mingus as performer, composer and writer. The scores and parts, as well as many of the recordings, represent both a working library of performing materials and a unique collection documenting Mingus's working methods.
Charles Mingus is considered one of America's greatest composers among such innovators as Charles Ives, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington. Born in Nogales, Ariz., on April 22, 1922, Mingus was the child of a family that included African- American, English, Chinese, Swedish and possibly Scottish parentage. From his first known compositions (ca. 1939) to his last, Mingus drew on his own rich heritage and created a body of work that contributes to the definition of American music.
Like Ives, Gershwin and Ellington, Mingus developed an immediately recognizable style by demanding a performance practice specific to his music. As a composer, Mingus recognized all styles of music as a resource and integrated improvising soloists into the fabric of his compositions.
Jazz scholar Andrew Homzy, who has been working with the Mingus Collection since 1984, discussed the innovative and creative influences of Charles Mingus on jazz and on American music in general at the press conference.
"Mingus had a tremendous sense of self as a composer. Even though he went through a certain period ... where he would teach his musicians his piece by ear, that was [only] one aspect of his compositional style. He really was concerned with writing his music, orchestrating it, having it set down, as any composer would, for posterity."
"I was aware of the scope of Mingus's music," continued Mr. Homzy, "but actually by going through the scores, I understood that it was even wider than I had originally suspected. And even some pieces which were thought to have been worked out in the recording studio, where Mingus taught the musicians part by part, some of these do exist in Mingus's hand. In other words, it was very important for him to save these things."
Mr. Homzy gave a brief lecture on the music of Mingus, playing a number of different taped excerpts to illustrate various points. He showed how Mingus was influenced by all kinds of music, from the music of the Holiness Church of his childhood, to other jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington and alto saxophone player Charlie Parker.
"Mingus was not a separatist; he did not put music into different categories. ... He brought it all together, and all this shows in some way or another in almost every piece he wrote," said Mr. Homzy.
He then discussed the accomplishments of Charles Mingus as an innovator in the jazz idiom and how he improvised (what Homzy called "plastic, elastic form") within the structure of a piece as well as with changes in meter and tempo ("metric modulation").
"This idea of metric modulation," noted Mr. Homzy, "Mingus developed to a very sophisticated degree, working particularly with his drummer, Danny Richmond, who was very important in this rhythmic concept."
The Mingus Big Band, featuring a 14-member jazz repertory orchestra, performed a program of Mingus classics for an overflow crowd at the Library's concert held at the auditorium of the National Academy of Sciences on Friday evening, June 4. The concert was introduced by Sue Mingus, the creator of Mingus Big Band, who again expressed her pleasure that the Mingus Collection had found a home at the Library of Congress.
A one-hour radio program based on the Friday night concert, "Mingus Big Band: Live at the Library of Congress," has been produced as part of the continuing "Concerts from the Library of Congress" series, and it will be heard nationwide over radio stations in the American Public Radio Network.