Mingus - Beneath the Underdog

[king ubu]

Just finished reading "Beneath the Underdog" and like it a lot. I think this book should have its place in the african-american literature, with the likes of Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson or Amiri Baraka.

I read it as a piece of fiction, of course, including some amount of information on Mingus' early years as a musician and on some of his colleagues such as Buddy Collette.

Other opinions?

ubu

[Jad]

Definately enjoyed it. I didn't know what I was getting into when I first picked up the book, and was taken by surprise. I enjoyed it even more the second time I read it. It comes across more as a piece of prose and underscores how deep Mingus' genius is.

[JSngry]

It's sorta like a literary version of THE BLACK SAINT & THE SINNER LADY - sprawling, ambitious, passionate beyond reason, warm, knowing, you name it.

AND - pretty damn funny in spots. "Sloppy pop", anybody?

Maybe not a biography of the man, per se, but surely a biography of his spirit.