“…No composer–bandleader–instrumentalist since Ellington encompassed more of jazz’s accomplish­ment and promise. Mingus wasthe black–music experience in the United States – in its hybridization, its questing after form, its improvisation, competitiveness, impertinence, outrage, intellectualization, joy, emotionalism, bitterness, comedy, parody, and frustration.” (Gary Giddins, Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop, 1991