Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog
Directed by Don McGlynn
Viewed at the San Francisco
International Film Festival
Is music the window into one's soul, or heart, or both.
Sometimes you can just put me in a trance...
This very personal and loving documentary on Mingus, covers parts of his boatride on the sea of jazz! His beginnings with Duke ellington and then Lionel Hampton. Stories about his life as a man caught between races: not black, not chinese, not white, but an amazing amalgum of them all.
As a true original he had much trouble fitting in, but his talents as a musician and composer shine through. There is some amazing live footage of performances with Ellingto, Hampton and others as well as interviews with his bandmates and his wife Susan Mingus (who also co-produced the film). Susan recounts several episodes during mingus' life, his moments of triumph and of pain, but mostly a loving tribute to a true original. And in the end the music does the talking!
Filmography
Don McGlynn (b. Minneapolis, MN, 1995) Dexter Gordon: More Than You Know (1996), Glenn Miller: America's Musical Hero (1992), The Mills Brothers Story (1986), Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor (1982)
Reviewed by Eric Michel, FilmCities
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