“LIVE From Southampton Arts Center” Taking On “Beneath The Underdog: The Music Of Charles Mingus”

LIVE from Southampton Arts Center will continue on Saturday, February 11th with Beneath the Underdog: The Music of Charles Mingus.

The evening will fête bass player extraordinaire Charles Mingus – who is considered one of the essential composers in the history of jazz. Mingus, whose earliest musical influences came from the church and listening to Duke Ellington over the radio as a youngster, published his memoir, Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus, in 1971. Mingus studied double bass and composition with H. Rheinshagen, principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic, as well as compositional techniques with Lloyd Reese. The musician’s impressive career includes touring with or sharing the stage with Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and many more. The musician also created his own publishing and recording companies to protect his original music, and established the “Jazz Workshop” – a group that helped young composers gain experience in the studio and onstage.

“Beneath the Underdog celebrated, wild, funny, demonic, anguished, shocking, and profoundly moving memoir tells of his God-haunted childhood in Watts during the 1920’s and 1930’s; his outcast adolescent years; his apprenticeship, not only with jazzmen but also with pimps, hookers, junkies, and hoodlums; and his golden years in New York City with such legendary figures as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie,” explained series curator Claes Brondal of The Jam Session. “Mingus moved from shabby roadhouses to fabulous estates, from the psychiatric wards of Bellevue to worlds of mysticism and solitude, but for all his travels never straying too far, always returning to music.”

The musical tribute will feature Claes Brondal on Drums, Santi Debriano on Bass, Bob Hovey on Trombone, Eric Schugren on Saxophone, and Bill Smith on piano.

“This special concert will pay tribute to the man and his story,” he added.

Once again, Union Cantina will treat attendees to complimentary refreshments before to and during the concert.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is $15.

Additional LIVE from Southampton Arts Center concerts will take place on Saturday, March 24th, Saturday, April 22nd and Saturday, May 20th.

Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton. For more information, call 631-283-0967 or visit southamptonartscenter.org.