The jazz artist Charles Mingus  (born on April 22, 1922) left behind an amazing legacy that includes a stellar catalog of compositions such as "Goodbye Porkpie Hat," "Better Get Hit in Your Soul," and "Fables of Faubus"; a career that  included working with many musical greats such as Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Max Roach, and Joni Mitchell; and approaches to the jazz idiom such as directions for big bands  that have been indelibly etched into jazz vocabulary. * 

Mingus would have been 90 this year, but sadly he died of ALS in 1979. Sue Graham Mingus, who met Charles in the early '60s, was married to him and took care of him throughout his illness. Tonight at Noon: A Love Story, Sue Mingus' eloquent memoir, contains many memorable anecdotes of  her life with Mingus. Sue has been directing The Mingus Bands for more than 30 years, and also directs Mingus jazz education outreach in New York City. 

The Borderbend Arts Collective has presented ten Charles Mingus-inspired concerts, including nine Mingus Awareness Project concerts in Chicago and Richmond, Virginia. Borderbend is planning special programming this year, in honor of Mingus' 90th birthday -- including the next Mingus Awareness Project concert which happens at Fitzgerald's on May 17th. More announcements will be made soon...

* Many excellent books about Mingus have been published. Check out Gene Santoro's Myself When I Am Real, Mingus' autobiography Beneath the Underdog, and Sue Mingus' Tonight at Noon.   

pictured above: Mingus Awareness Project poster image designed by Josh Josue


Here are several recordings from Mingus Awareness Project concerts. Enjoy! 


Here's an excerpt of Sue Graham Mingus reading from her memoir Tonight at Noon, during the Mingus Awareness Project concert at the Hideout in 2009 -- 
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Saturday, February 25, 2012 (7:00 p.m.)

Curtiss Hall
Fine Arts Building
410 South Michigan Ave., tenth floor
Chicago IL 60605

Justin Dillard-Junius Paul Duo
   Justin Dillard -- piano
   Junius Paul -- upright bass

DOE Projects / Deborah Doering -- painting 
   with assistance by Audrey Schlofner

ADMISSION: $20, $10 for students

You are invited to attend "Visual Music," a piano + painting concert that introduces a unique collaboration between the Justin Dillard-Junius Paul Duo and DOE Projects / Deborah Doering. This concert is being presented by PianoForte Foundation, in partnership with the Borderbend Arts Collective and IS Productions. A reception follows the concert. 

This is the second concert in this series’ fourth season. Frank Abbinanti, Jim Baker, Renée Baker’s TUNTUI, Ben Boye, Ari Brown, Phyllis Chen, Steve Cohn, CUBE, Justin Dillard, Irina Feoktistova, Paul Giallorenzo, Burton Greene, Jonathan Hey, Sebastian Huydts, Keith Kirchoff, Mabel Kwan, Matthew McCright, Adam Marks, Thollem McDonas, Eric Glick Rieman, Kathleen Supové, Adam Tendler, and Ann Ward have performed during this concert series. 

Media Contact
Susan Heiserman: susan@pianofortefoundation.org   
PianoForte
410 South Michigan Ave., first floor
Chicago IL 60605
(312) 291-0000


Deborah Doering received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She visualizes the zero and one moving in space as the point of departure for her projects, prints, and paintings. 

Doering's work has been honored by Sotheby's International Young Art Competition and juried in two Exhibitions of American Art, by James Rondeau, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, sponsored by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Her work is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Puffin Foundation  
and Chicago Artists’ Assistance Program grants have supported her work.  

Deborah has attended artist residencies in the US and abroad, including Ragdale/Lake Forest and Public Art Residency, Kassel/Berlin. Her work is in US and international collections. Doering works collaboratively as “DOE Projects,” a sponsored project of FracturedAtlas.org. http://www.deborahdoering.com  


Justin Dillard was born and raised on the west side of Chicago into a rich thriving musical home. He has had the honorable privilege to perform with and/or receive tutelage from (in no particular order) McCoy Tyner, Hamid Drake, Eric Lewis, Branford Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Clayton, Don Moyé, Herbie Hancock, Henry Grimes, Clark Terry and Ellis Marsalis among others. Justin has had the esteemed pleasure to work in conjunction with, record,  and/or study from prominent world-renowned resident musicians in and around the Chicago area (in no particular order), such as Von Freeman, 
Bobby Irving III, Roscoe Mitchell,  Ari Brown, Orbert Davis, Hamiet Bluiett, Erma Thompson, Fred Anderson, Bill Dickens, The AACM Experimental Ensemble, Billy Bang, Nicole Mitchell, Kahil El’ Zabar, and Ernest Dawkins (Live the Spirit Big Band and The Chicago 12 ensembles). 

His media accolades include features in various periodicals including The Chicago Reader, and The Chicago Sun-Times. Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune arts critic, writes: “A new generation of jazz improvisers has emerged in Chicago in recent years, but few are more promising than pianist/organist Justin Dillard. Musically, Dillard tends to be all over the keyboard, drawing upon the examples of virtuosos such as Oscar Peterson and McCoy Tyner. But there's something more to Dillard's work as well -- a quest for new ideas in music, in the manner of his AACM mentors”. Performing countless jazz festivals nationally and abroad, Justin has performed on national television (ABC) with his organ expose’ The D-O-3-0 and in a documentary produced by George Lucas Studios. Justin continues to advance his ambitions and transform his career by leading, orchestrating and creatively composing for The DOT and his vast array of ensembles all while accompanying great musicians in and around Chicago and the world. Stay tuned.  http://aacmchicago.org/justin-dillard 


Junius Paul has established himself as a reputable electric and acoustic bassist on the Chicago music scene. Born and raised in the Chicago area and a graduate of St. Xavier University in Chicago, his passion for music shows consistently in his playing. Junius is well established in many genres, ranging from jazz to hip-hop, house music, funk, classical and gospel, and has shared the stage with such artists as Wynton Marsalis, Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, Fred Anderson, Roscoe Mitchell, Donald Harrison, Kahil El’Zabar, Hamiett Bluiett, Nona Hendryx, Chico DeBarge, Eric Roberson, KRS-One, Dee Alexander, Roy Hargrove and Corey Wilkes to name a few. He has appeared on audio and DVD recordings for many artists, including Corey Wilkes,  Abstrakt Pulse, Dee Alexander, DJ Shannon Harris, the St. Luke COGIC gospel choir, Peven Everett and Kahil El'Zabar. Junius also performs internationally, notably the Southport Weekender Festival  (Southport, England), the Sons d’hiver Festival (Paris, France), the Made In Chicago Series (Poznan, Poland), the 
INNtone Festival (Austria), as well as festivals in Ghana, Italy,   and Brazil. Junius is currently immersed in creating a new studio project, scheduled for release in early 2012.  http://www.juniuspaul.com/ 


Justin Dillard and his trio performed at PianoForte during the inaugural Experimental Piano Series concert in November 2008. Here are some audio recordings from that concert -- 
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