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Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus [Paperback]

Charles Mingus
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A wild, lyrical, and anguished autobiography, in which Charles Mingus pays short shrift to the facts but plunges to the very bottom of his psyche, coming up for air only when it pleases him. He takes the reader through his childhood in Watts, his musical education by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker, and his prodigious appetites--intellectual, culinary, and sexual. The book is a jumble, but a glorious one, by a certified American genius.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage (September 3, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0679737618
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679737612
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars How to Be a Pimp 101 March 9, 2006
Format:Paperback
A word of warning to those thinking of purchasing this book - It is not what you may think. This is not a linear autobiographical work - it is more along the lines of an exagerrated story of the pimp lifestyle and the struggles of a light skinned African American in early to mid-20th century America.

Pay attention to the 'disclaimer' in the beginning of the book:

"Some names in this book have been changed and some of the characters and incidents are fictitious."

Therefore, you must not read this book under the assumption that it is a typical jazz autobiography. I view it as more of an artform, just as I would view the music. I find BENEATH THE UNDERDOG to still be an enjoyable read, however, you must know what you are getting yourself into. The stories are all over the place, including wild stories that involve dozens of women in Mexico as well as his later frustrations concerning his time at the Bellevue mental hospital in New York City. Mingus also writes about his youth in Watts, California, specifically the fact that he did not fit in with the whites because he was black, and he did not fit in with the blacks because he was light -skinned. These issues of alienation spill over into other aspects of his life. Additionally, one could argue that the racism and alientation he suffered along with the fame he experienced are strikingly similar to Miles Davis's frustrations in his autobiographical work, MILES.

The writing style in this book is less than professional, to say the least, but it is still an entertaining read. If you would like to explore a much more solid biographical portrayal of Mingus, allow me to recommend his wife's book, TONIGHT AT NOON or the book, MINGUS: A CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY by Brian Priestly.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A bit unclear sometimes, yet a great book March 29, 2003
By Nimrod
Format:Paperback
I didn't really know what to expect when I opened this book. It was the first time that I've opened a musician's autobiography, and I thought it might have an examination of how he developed his style, how did he decide to play the instrument, etc. This book was a good surprise. Mingus is hardly focusing the music, though it is always there, and choosing to tell us about everything that's around it. It seems as if he knows that the reader is probably familiar with his music, and is trying to make us understand WHY his music is as it is, and it's a smart move. The autobiography sort of completes the music, adding a missing half to it, making me understand Mingus the man, and through it understand better Mingus the artist.

The book is written wonderfully, Mingus' writing is brilliant, and the story sweeps you with him and you thank God for it being such a small book or you might've missing a month from reading it rather than a day. Some things are not totally clear, and some things are not explained, but yet, it is a great book, deals with love, crime, blacks and whites, jazz, madness, and the conclusion, which is expressed in the title, that love, for friends, women or for music is the only thing that's really important, and if you dig it, you could find happiness.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Look, all you people who are offended, turned off, disappointed by this book, it is a jazz fable, a tall tale, an anthem to an insane period in American history, a wonderful pastiche and motley carnival of fact and fiction, a truly ground-breaking early Post-Modern ride. It is precisely along the lines of the music Mingus made. The moralists and those who sit in judgment are reacting precisely the way Mingus would have found hilarious. If you don't get this book, you don't get Mingus music and you probably don't get a whole lot of other angles on underground American culture, race relations, black male sexuality as mythologized by our prurient pseudo-religious moralizers, drug addiction and its bizarre effect on personal relationships, raw spirituality and the shadow, the mid-century shambles of mental health care, the predicament of the creative artist in a capitalist society, etc., etc., etc. If you want a pallid "jazz biography" read a book by some footnote-addled academic. If you want a real vision of one of the craziest lives of one of the most amazing artists of the 20th century, this book can work.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius - sprawling, dangerous, uncut, priceless and essential
I am astonished at how few reviewers seem to "get" this book -- I knew it was a masterpiece, that much is obvious to me -- and it has fueled my love of Charles Mingus and his music... Read more
Published 16 months ago by coverto
5.0 out of 5 stars Freeform Masterpiece
People have strong opinions about this book. I think it's brilliant. One of my favorite (exaggerated) autobiographies. Less music, more mental institutions and pimping. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Dave Naz
4.0 out of 5 stars Beneath the Underdog
This is a good look at the life of Mingus, written in a very open, honest and conversational style. It isn't so much about his music life, as about his lifestyle that helped create... Read more
Published on March 5, 2011 by Spider Monkey
5.0 out of 5 stars even pimps get the blues
This book is about the meat and schitt of human existence, and is beautiful and totally deranged. Highly recommended.
Published on August 25, 2008 by Daniel R. Saint Andre
5.0 out of 5 stars The inner life of a jazz giant told autobiographicly,...
The first page tells it: if you like that, read on.
He sets the stage by describing 3 parts of his psyche: the one who wants to love and be loved; the one who rages over... Read more
Published on March 26, 2008 by Charles J. Horowitz
4.0 out of 5 stars Great literature? No, but a revealing artifact anyhow
Those looking for anything like a conventional musical bio should go to "Mingus, a Critical Biography" by Brian Priestley; "Underdog" isn't that at all; it's an artifact of Mingus'... Read more
Published on March 10, 2007 by R G-S
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I was looking for a book on his music. This book belongs in Fantasy. It is a play by play of Mr. Mingus' sex life. I have no desire to research him any further.
Published on January 9, 2007 by J. Parks
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius
Genius genius genius, with thriving spellbound ingeniousness, billowed with an ego that would knock the head of anyone who was within eighthundred of his forehead. Read more
Published on August 24, 2006 by Alexander C. Schmidt
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a literary masterpiece, but not a piece.of junk.
To start, this book is not bad enough to turn a reader away from the whole genre. That statement is ridiculous. Read more
Published on April 4, 2006 by Leslie
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have read..
Mingus writes in style that is uncompromising - it is written like his music, and each thread of it is marked with the pain and longing for release that often came out in his... Read more
Published on December 31, 2005 by Stalwart Kreinblaster
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