The music of Charles Mingus: Compositional approach, style, and the performance of race and politics in the "Free Land of Slavery"
Item
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Title
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The music of Charles Mingus: Compositional approach, style, and the performance of race and politics in the "Free Land of Slavery"
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:6f9928873176:12059
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identifier
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12734
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Creator
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Lopez-Dabdoub, Eduardo,
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Contributor
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Jeffrey Taylor
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Date
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2013
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music | African American studies | American studies | Black studies | black masculinity | Charles Mingus | Civil Rights Movement | Fables of Faubus | Folk Forms No. 1 | jazz
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Abstract
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As a composer, bassist, and bandleader, Charles Mingus (1922-1979) is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovate figures in American music. Most existing scholarship on Mingus has focused on his biography and his socio-cultural milieu, yet very little offers any in-depth analysis of his music. This dissertation examines selected works by Mingus, providing detailed musical analyses and transcriptions while also considering the context in which the works were composed, with emphasis on the various cultural, political, and social issues that had strong ramifications on his compositions and performances. The project is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 examines Mingus's complicated relationship with the jazz avant-garde and focuses on his composition "Folk Forms, No. 1" (1960), which demonstrates the various ways in which Mingus anticipated, was influenced by, and rejected prevailing avant-garde aesthetics. Chapter 2 traces the transformation of "Fables of Faubus" (1957) from its first recording in 1959 to the performances that surrounded Mingus's European tour in 1964, and examines how Mingus's significant revisions to the piece reflect the increasing tensions and discords of the Civil Rights Movement. Finally, Chapter 3 delves into the complexity of Mingus's racial identity and his performances of black masculinity, and shows how these issues unfold in four compositions: "Eclipse" (1953), "Devil Woman" (1961), "Ecclusiastics" (1961), and "Sue's Changes" (1974).
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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D.M.A.
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Program
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Music
