The First of Four for Mingus with AJ Johnson at Alphabet City - Northside

In support of his project “Four for Mingus,” AJ Johnson kicks off the first in a series of four concerts. These performances are dedicated to visionary musician Charles Mingus, centering on political and protest music, spirituality and self-reflection, Charles Mingus’ own expansion of the blues, and the inspiration he took from Duke Ellington.

Charles Mingus was not only an outstanding bassist but is considered among the most ambitious jazz composers. A rare, full-time bandleader from the bass, he was a militant voice for racial justice and fought for control of his music and livelihood by making his own independent recordings, creating his own record label, and producing his own concerts. He composed music pertaining to the Attica Uprising, segregation and the Little Rock Nine, nuclear war, and state incarceration. This concert honors and expands upon that political and protest work and includes video from the Jazz and People’s Movement protest performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1971.

Aaron J Johnson, Charles Mingus