Ashley Kahn & the CRJO Present Charles Mingus: A Self-Portrait in Three Colors

($30-$40 tickets | 7pm Lecture | 8:30pm Show) Grammy Award-winning music historian, journalist, producer and educator Ashley Kahn returns to the Century Room for a very special presentation on the life and legacy of Nogales-born bassist and composer Charles Mingus. Then, the Century Room Jazz Orchestra will perform a selection of Mingus’ music including hits like Goodbye Porkpie Hat, Haitian Fight Song, Better Get Hit In Your Soul and more! Presented with Roux Events LLC.

**Self-Portrait in Three Colors: The Arizona-born, Cross-Racial Reality of Charles Mingus**

*Charles Mingus’s towering legend rests on not one or two, but three major musical facets: as player, composer, and bandleader. While other modern jazz giants were likewise “triple-threats,” the iconic bassist still stands out as a fiercely independent (starting his own label; running and recording his own workshops,) and proudly African American voice (addressing social justice) who laid the groundwork for many to follow. One way of appreciating his approach to jazz is to understand his singular way of balancing various aspects in jazz: composition and improvisation, sophistication and roots music. Another is to understand how boldly self-aware he was, weaving who he was and what he loved into his music. He could be belligerent, seductive, and outspoken. Born in Nogales in 1922, he remains one of the most powerful, enduring influences in modern jazz today.*