Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie performs at the Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival on Jan. 15, 1966. Bob Daugherty/AP hide caption
Charles Mingus
Edward Norton Vava Ribeiro/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Edward Norton On World Cafe
Charles Mingus poses next to a poster for his six nights of performances at the Strata Concert Gallery in Detroit in 1973. A recording of one of those nights has just been released. Sue Mingus/Courtesy of BBE Music hide caption
Jason Moran (left) and Georgia Anne Muldrow celebrate Charles Mingus during a program at the Kennedy Center. Jati Lindsay/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center hide caption
Muldrow Meets Mingus
Charles Mingus, Paris 1964. Guy Le Querrec/Courtesy of Charles Mingus Archives hide caption
Charles Mingus: 'Fables of Bass,' Part 2
Charles Mingus venerated Duke Ellington — despite being the only musician ever officially fired from Ellington's band. Courtesy of Charles Mingus Archives hide caption
Charles Mingus: 'Fables of Bass,' Part 1
Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto courtesy of the artist hide caption
Gunther Schuller conducts the Mingus Orchestra at St. Bartholomew's Church. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The Mingus Orchestra On JazzSet
Wynton Marsalis leads a group of musicians through upper Manhattan's Riverside Church for the New Orleans-style funeral of vibraphonist Lionel Hampton in 2002. Doug Kanter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Charles Mingus getting cozy with a Verdi Imperial Stout. (And, yes, this is an "unauthorized" copy of Mexican Moods. Sorry, Sue Mingus, it was a gift.) Lars Gotrich/NPR hide caption
Mingus Big Band in Concert at the Jazz Standard 12/31/08
Mingus' Magnum Opus: 'Epitaph' In Concert
Sue Graham Mingus
Bassist Charles Mingus leads a band at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, including Lonnie Hillyer (trumpet) and Charles McPherson (alto sax, obscured). Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES hide caption
Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music. David Redfern/Redferns hide caption