Myself When I Am Real

"The definitive Mingus biography."--The Boston Book Review "The best examination yet of an American original."--Washington Post "The great bassist and composer's wild, turbulent life [is] wonderfully captured by Santoro....In sharp and lively prose, [he] digs deep into Mingus' past to sort out the strands of his life..."--Rolling Stone "As Mingus's story unfolds, Santoro keeps the backbeat with perspectives on the socio-political churnings over those years, all of which affected Mingus's life and music....Santoro is on target, and his writing...soars."--The Boston Globe "This is a biography as gargantuan in scope and ambition as Mingus himself, and highly recommended."--The Seattle Times "Written with the elegant hand of an experienced journalist and the insight of a musician with first-rate ears, the book accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of casting a revealing light upon the inner life of its enigmatic subject."--Los Angeles Times "Santoro brings his readers into the mind of this conflicted genius."--The Philadelphia Inquirer "A valuable book....It's an entertaining, well-written, informative look at the man and his life."--Jazzwise "Getting to the real Mingus isn't easy, but Santoro does an excellent job."--The Baltimore City Paper "[Myself When I Am Real] is a singular and considerable achievement. Readers will be grateful for Santoro's labors and the opportunity to rediscover the enduring sounds of an American master."--The Los Angeles Daily News "As Mingus's story unfolds, Santoro keeps the backbeat with perspectives on the socio-political churnings over those years, all of which affected Mingus's life and music....Santoro is on target, and his writing...soars."--The Boston Globe "Drawing on new interviews and previously untapped letters and archival materials, this potent portrait of the legendary jazz bassist and composer probes his tempestuous personal life and volcanic temperament, as well as his artistic inspiration from the tough , racially mixed Watts neighborhood of his youth to the artistic ferment of postwar Greenwich Village."--Forecast "To fill gaps in the record, Santoro has made good use of the Mingus archive at the Library of Congress with its letters, bankbooks and contracts. He has also interviewed Mingus's wives, sisters, children and several dozen musicians and business associates."--The New York Times Book Review "[Santoro] captures Mingus in all his moods, revealing the influences that made him tick as an artist."--The Chicago Sun-Times "This is a biography as gargantuan in scope and ambition as Mingus himself, and highly recommended."--The Seattle Times "A definitive look at the compelling music and epic life of one of the 20th century's most important artists."--The Huntsville Times "Interspersed with cultural parallels and jammed with details about Mingus' racially ambivalent L.A. youth and revelations about previously underacknowledged influences, Myself When I Am Real is the most complete bio on its subject."--LA Weekly "Written with the elegant hand of an experienced journalist and the insight of a musician with first-rate ears, the book accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of casting a revealing light upon the inner life of its enigmatic subject."--The Los Angeles Times "The best examination yet of an American original."--The Washington Post "Mingus saw his gift as too big to be contained by a type of music or by music generally; and this definitive biography helps us better appreciate the messy and often volatile world his genius helped define."--The Boston Sunday Globe "Santoro's unconventional but meticulously researched biography is a deliciously entertaining examination not only of jazz's 'angry man' and his music, but of the times in which both flourished. Santoro casts Mingus as a central character in the restless drama of a postwar America wrestling to find its identity politically, socially, and artistically."--The Boston Globe "Physically bearish and imposing, Mingus always seemed even larger psychically, a figure to fill the room, alter the vibes, suck up all the air--a cross between Falstaff and Othello. In his marvelous hall of mirrors, Myself When I Am Real, Gene Santoro has grasped him whole, or at least as whole as one can expect from mere prose. Some passages suggest the hammering rhythms of a drum solo, others the sprawl of a Mingusian piano meditation. It is a stunning achievement."--Gary Giddins, author of Visions of Jazz: The First Century "Mingus's creative turbulence comes alive. We see how his life and times, including his battles with racism and the music business and himself, were intimately entwined with his remarkable music."--Cassandra Wilson "An admirably objective attempt to come to terms with the personal and musical complexity that was Charles Mingus. Gene Santoro's comprehensively researched and critically insightful book makes Mingus as fascinating and as outrageous as Mingus himself seemed to have always wanted to be."--Albert Murray "Over the past few years, several exceptional biographies on key jazz artists...have appeared. Santoro has produced a work that belongs with this elite group. Mingus's super-human energy and creativity are the hinges of this work, which is filled out with numerous anecdotes and short, insightful quotes from family, friends, and colleagues."--Library Journal "In Myself When I Am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus, Gene Santoro riffs on the life of the Angry Man of Jazz, an ill-behaved, volcanic genius prone to pushing pianos down stairs."--Vanity Fair "Santoro brings his readers into the mind of this conflicted genius."--The Philadelphia Inquirer "In this comprehensive biography, Santoro delves passionately into the life and work of "Jazz's Angry Man". Through extensive research and discerning interviews he explores Mingus's influences, chaotic upbringing, and pivotal role in America's postwar cultural renaissance."--Talk "The great bassist and composer's wild, turbulent life (is) wonderfully captured by Santoro.... Santoro, in sharp and lively prose, digs deep into Mingus' past to sort out the strands of his life..."--Rolling Stone "A triumph.... A prodigious work of scholarship...captures Mingus' personality wonderfully.... the definitive Mingus biography."--The Boston Book Review "Gene Santoro's ambitious and engrossing biography has the vivid force of a bravura performance by one of its subject's classic Jazz Workshop ensembles."--San Francisco Chronicle