Mingus

Summary

Dominique Pagani mentions Charles Mingus briefly, in sessions spread from 2016 to 2023, mostly as an example in his reflections on jazz. He places him on the side of an avant-garde jazz of which Mingus is the arranger: he writes certain parts and leaves improvised stretches open1. He situates this music on the edge of free jazz2. He also cites him as a member of the Money Jungle trio3. In a session devoted to the Greeks, myth and music, he compares Mingus's encores on bass with Dolphy to a conversation between children, which he presents as the jazz equivalent of babbling4. While reading Nietzsche, he links Pithecanthropus Erectus to the music prowling with wild beasts that the philosopher describes: one seems, he says, to hear Mingus in it5. These mentions remain occasional. They serve to shed light on the relation between writing and improvisation and to illustrate certain musical images drawn from philosophical texts.

1. 1From Bach to the Pygmies22 Jun 2022 · 17:02
2. 2#16 Michel Clouscard: “There are no holidays in the concept!”7 Jul 2022 · 22:34
3. 3Hegel on the Beach 5/52 Feb 2016 · 1:56:49
4. 4#7 The Greeks, myth and music17 Dec 2020 · 1:00:07
5. 5Nietzsche, or the Great Ninny7 Feb 2023 · 8:20

Summary produced automatically from 5 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.