‘Underdog’ a Triumphant Look at Mingus’ Life, Music

“I am Charles Mingus, a famed jazz musician, but not famed enough to make a living in a society that is America.” The words are spoken in characteristically sardonic manner by Mingus near the beginning of a new documentary, “Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog.” And they serve as a subtext for the material that follows--a fascinating overview of a life in jazz.

The title refers to Mingus’ often bitter autobiography, “Beneath the Underdog,” accurately suggesting that Mingus’ music, despite the difficult trials of his life, has finally triumphed.

The documentary starts slowly, distracted by producer-director Don McGlynn’s emphasis on affirmations from composers such as Gunther Schuller. Despite his enormous admiration for Mingus’ achievements as a composer, Schuller surprisingly expresses amazement that Mingus, who grew up in Watts in the ‘30, was aware of composers such as Schoenberg and Bartok.

In other comments that surface toward the close of the film, Schuller’s effort to contextualize Mingus with 20th century concert music composers suggests, however inadvertently, that the bassist-composer is somehow validated by such comparisons. Ironically, Schuller’s remarks provide an unintended counterpoint to Mingus’ more trenchant observations about his life and his music.

As the balance of the documentary reveals, the iconoclastic Mingus would probably have responded to the associations with his favorite obscenity. And the documentary is best when it reveals the complete Mingus, the complex player, composer, poet and social commentator who brought all those qualities to everything he did.

There is Mingus in 1977, telling someone to “turn on the [expletive] mike,” before launching into his classic “Who said Momma’s little baby loves shortenin’ bread? . . . Momma’s little baby likes truffles, Momma’s little baby likes caviar. . . . “ And there is Mingus reading a variation on the Pledge of Allegiance that includes, “I pledge allegiance to see that someday they will deliver their own promises to the victims that they call citizens. Not just the black ghettos, but the white ghettos, the Japanese ghettos . . . all the ghettos. . . . “

There are marvelous anecdotes from Mingus describing Charlie Parker’s attempt to hire him, from trombonist Britt Woodman about a famous confrontation between Mingus and trombonist Juan Tizol, from trombonist Eddie Bert recounting how Mingus once dealt with an unruly audience.

Intriguing stuff, all of it, once past the affirmations that the marvelous music makes irrelevant. And, among all the tales and reminiscences, it may be John Handy who sums up Mingus most directly when he simply says, “His personality ran like the color spectrum, from hot to cold, from beautiful to you take it from there.”

* “Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog,” Shanachie. VHS Stereo. 80 minutes. $19.95.

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Jazz Classics: Speaking of Mingus, it’s appropriate that on June 9 Columbia Legacy will release a three-CD boxed set of his complete 1959 studio sessions. Included are all the tracks, plus some bonus material, from “Mingus Ah Um” and “Mingus Dynasty,” as well as an additional CD of alternate takes from both albums.

Also scheduled for release on the same date: “Monk Alone: The Complete Columbia Solo Studio Recordings: 1962-1968,” a two-CD set that includes 14 previously unreleased tracks; “Chet Baker With Strings,” a classic 1953 instrumental session also featuring Zoot Sims and Bud Shank, with charts by Johnny Mandel and Marty Paich; and “An Evening With Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea,” from the pair’s piano tour of 1978.

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Jazz in Print: Jazz has not generally been well served in fiction. Despite the appeal the music and its environs hold for writers, the tendency--with a few rare exceptions--has been to delve into its superficial darkness rather than the complex layers of character and expression essential to the music.

“Blue Bossa” (Viking) by Bart Schneider doesn’t completely avoid the familiar pitfalls. But its premise is appealing, and Schneider clearly has an insider’s feeling for jazz. The story focuses upon a crucial point in the life of trumpeter Ronnie Reboulet. Approaching 50, his once-prominent career down the drain, his teeth deteriorating and his body still suffering ailments associated with years of using drugs, he decides to attempt a comeback. If the description is reminiscent of Chet Baker, Schneider is quick to acknowledge that it was inspired by the late trumpeter’s life. But Reboulet soon emerges as his own character via a series of quick-cut, snapshot scenes brimming with the complex emotions of a life in jazz.

There’s considerably less drama in “Jazz: A Century of Change” (Schirmer Books) by Lewis Porter. But the musical insights come fast and furious. Porter’s interesting approach establishes 12 areas of exploration--from “Where Did the Word Jazz Come From?” to “The Drug Problem” and “Crossing Boundaries, 1980 to the Present.” Each area includes essays and commentary (from artists and critics like Jelly Roll Morton, Billy Taylor, Leonard Feather, Peter Watrous) illuminating the subject, with additional observations from Porter. If the essay choices sometimes seem tailored to fit Porter’s conclusions, the material is never less than fascinating, an in-depth view of thoughtful, often scholarly jazz writing that reaches back for seven decades.

Author Stuart Nicholson has come up with just about everything you ever wanted to know about the post-bop fusion jazz era in “Jazz-Rock: A History” (Schirmer Books). Starting with groups such as Cream and Alexis Korner in the ‘60s and working his way through Blood, Sweat & Tears, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Weather Report, Return to Forever and stops in between, Nicholson winds up with such young contemporaries as Charlie Hunter, Peter Apfelbaum, Medeski Martin & Wood and others. Well-written and detailed, the book is the first to provide such a thorough view of jazz in the crossover decades.