Charles Mingus on Creativity
Summary
Charles Mingus describes himself as having three parts: a calm observer, a fearful attacker, and a trusting person who can be hurt. He believes that true creativity lies in making complicated things simple, rather than just playing weird sounds. Mingus's thoughts reflect the complexity of human emotions and the art of jazz.
URL: https://www.charlesmingus.com/mingus/in-his-own-words
Highlights
“Anybody can play weird, that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple—awesomely simple—that’s creativity.”
— Charles Mingus, statement in Mainliner Magazine (United Airlines), July 1977