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Charles Mingus

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the birth of Charles Mingus. As an instrumentalist, he became known as "the Segovia of the bass" and championed the unwieldy instrument as a solo voice in jazz groups. He became one of the first bassists to lead his own group. But perhaps he made his greatest mark as a composer. He was inspired by Ellington and carried that great composer's ideas to new levels in the nearly 300 works Mingus left behind. Karen Michel (mih-SHELL) has this report on the life and music of one of America's true jazz innovators. (8:00) ((ST

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