Thelonious Mingus

Charles Mingus, ink on paper, 2020

 

My appreciation for certain jazz musicians active in the 1960s never wanes. In the midst of exploring new musical styles, eras, and geographic locations the old jazz favorites, such as Mingus and Monk, never cease to impress me. A Rolling Stone article Wynton Marsalis on 12 Essential Jazz Recording introduced me to this recording of Meditations on Integration made in Oslo in 1964. Flutist Eric Dolphy had just informed Mingus he was going to stay behind in Europe and the two of them have a little conversation on stage before starting the song. Mingus asks Dolphy how long he is planning to stay in Europe, a poignant exchange as Dolphy dies just a few months later. The approach of the drawing reminded me of how I did a series of Jazz drawings for the Top 100 of 1999, the first one of many that was exhibited publicly. The local Columbus newspaper The Other Paper chose Thelonious Monk to feature the cover of their events section. 

Thelonious Monk, The Other Paper, 2000

Top 100 2012 @ WDNA 88.9 FM

Top 100 2009: Milford Graves
±12" x 9", oil on wood, 2010

The complete Top 100 2012 series continues to be on view at the WDNA Jazz Gallery in Miami, FL through July 13. The gallery is located at 2921 Coral Way in Coral Gables and is open during regular business hours. The opening took place on May 25th during which the Carl Allen Quartet performed live. Right before the concert started I was invited to speak a few words. The video below is a registration of those minutes. I am introduced by Howard Duperly, the public relations director at the radio station.

For the occasion I published a small 22 page book that I titled OMG, I Made a Jazz Painting! in an edition of 25. The title I took from a page at this blog that was posted in 2010. The book is a freebie with the purchase of any work in the exhibition but can also be purchased for $14. Just send me a mail if you're interested. The books features texts and images of Jazz musicians compiled from my large Top 100 archive. One of the images in that book is the one of Milford Graves depicted above. It also appeared in Top 100 2009 (74p., Iconoclast Editions & Berry van Boekel, 2010) which can be purchased through the Iconoclast Editions website. The following is the text that accompanied Milford Graves in Top 100 2009:

20. Milford Graves/John Zorn – Calling in Proceed
     This past summer my wife Maria and I  visited the Netherlands and stayed at the home of my oldest and best friend Wim van Vonderen. He was present at the very first Top 100 played in 1984, and since I moved to the US I send him every year religiously a copy of the images, texts, and music of the Top 100. He made a bunch of top 100 lists himself. Our tastes have a lot in common and every year he influences the contents of my list. The differences in our tastes however, are as striking as the similarities. His taste is more formal than mine. For him lyrics are literature, and the music has to live up to the standards of art. Ascension through music is a path I abandoned a long time ago, replaced by a descent into chaos. As I go deeper and deeper into the abyss of human existance, I still meet my friend at points where the two paths miraculously meet.

Here are two more images from OMG, I Made a Jazz Painting!

Top 100 2007: Charles Mingus
charcoal on paper, 8" x 10"

Top 100 2006: Sun Ra
±7" x 11", oil on wood, 2007