Better Git It in Your Soul

Charles Mingus is one of the most important&mdash;and most mythologized&mdash;composers and performers in jazz history. Classically trained and of mixed race, he was an outspoken innovator as well as a bandleader, composer, producer, and record-label owner. His vivid autobiography, <I>Beneath the Underdog</I>, has done much to shape the image of Mingus as something of a wild man: idiosyncratic musical genius with a penchant for skirt-chasing and violent outbursts. But, as the autobiography reveals, he was also a hopeless romantic. After exploring the most important events in Mingus&rsquo;s life, Krin Gabbard takes a careful look at Mingus as a writer as well as a composer and musician. He digs into how and why Mingus chose to do so much self-analysis, how he worked to craft his racial identity in a world that saw him simply as &ldquo;black,&rdquo; and how his mental and physical health problems shaped his career. Gabbard sets aside the myth-making and convincingly argues that Charles Mingus created a unique language of emotions&mdash;and not just in music. Capturing many essential moments in jazz history anew,&#160;<I>Better Git It in Your Soul</I>&#160;will fascinate anyone who cares about jazz, African American history, and the artist&rsquo;s life.