Extraordinary early 10 x 8 inch ca. 1947 oblong photograph of Mingus playing his bass on stage left with saxophonist Charlie Fowlkes and second bass player, Charlie Harris during his brief stint with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He has boldly signed in blue fountain pen ink to a light area in the center to saxophonist Lowell "Count" Hastings, "To Count / A great cat keep blowin' / Charlie." Small nicks along the upper edge, a strong crease running horizontally through approx. four inches from the right edge, a few smaller creases, else fine.
Regarded as one of the most innovative of all jazz musicians, Mingus is seldom seen in signed photos. We have offered only one other in 20+ years and locate records of only 2 others ever having appeared at auction in over 30 years. All three examples were from the late 1960s or beyond. Most unusually signed "Charlie," the present example is almost certainly one of - if not the only - extant signed photographs from the first part of the musician's storied career, thus making it indeed the rarest of them all.
Lowell Hastings, aka “Count” Hastings, aka “Red” Hastings (1916 - 1993) was a well-known American jazz and rhythm blues saxophone player, who played regularly with Earl Bostic, Lucky Millinder, Illinois Jacquet, Tiny Bradshaw, Panama Francis, Little Willie John and Louis Jordan. A hugely experienced tenor sax man, he is probably best known for his 1949 – 1951 spell with the Earl Bostic group.
When Mingus first joined Lionel Hampton's big band 1947, the orchestra briefly used an experimental two-bass setup on stage. The second bass player was Charles Harris, seen here. According to Mingus’s own recollections, he originally wrote his virtuosic, breakout composition "Mingus Fingers" specifically for Hampton's band while they were featuring both bassists on stage simultaneously. However, upon hearing Mingus play, Lionel Hampton realized having a second bassist was entirely redundant. Hampton promptly let the other bass player go, leaving Mingus to solo and anchor the entire rhythm section by himself. The resulting 1947 recording of "Mingus Fingers" became a major hit and provided Mingus with his very first taste of national exposure as both a virtuoso performer and an avant-garde composer.
Decades later, in 1977, Hampton produced Lionel Hampton Presents Charles Mingus which served as Mingus's final studio recording session playing the bass before his passing.
Extraordinary early 10 x 8 inch ca. 1947 oblong photograph of Mingus playing his bass on stage left with saxophonist Charlie Fowlkes and second bass player, Charlie Harris during his brief stint with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He has boldly signed in blue fountain pen ink to a light area in the center to saxophonist Lowell "Count" Hastings, "To Count / A great cat keep blowin' / Charlie." Small nicks along the upper edge, a strong crease running horizontally through approx. four inches from the right edge, a few smaller creases, else fine.
Regarded as one of the most innovative of all jazz musicians, Mingus is seldom seen in signed photos. We have offered only one other in 20+ years and locate records of only 2 others ever having appeared at auction in over 30 years. All three examples were from the late 1960s or beyond. Most unusually signed "Charlie," the present example is almost certainly one of - if not the only - extant signed photographs from the first part of the musician's storied career, thus making it indeed the rarest of them all.
Lowell Hastings, aka “Count” Hastings, aka “Red” Hastings (1916 - 1993) was a well-known American jazz and rhythm blues saxophone player, who played regularly with Earl Bostic, Lucky Millinder, Illinois Jacquet, Tiny Bradshaw, Panama Francis, Little Willie John and Louis Jordan. A hugely experienced tenor sax man, he is probably best known for his 1949 – 1951 spell with the Earl Bostic group.
When Mingus first joined Lionel Hampton's big band 1947, the orchestra briefly used an experimental two-bass setup on stage. The second bass player was Charles Harris, seen here. According to Mingus’s own recollections, he originally wrote his virtuosic, breakout composition "Mingus Fingers" specifically for Hampton's band while they were featuring both bassists on stage simultaneously. However, upon hearing Mingus play, Lionel Hampton realized having a second bassist was entirely redundant. Hampton promptly let the other bass player go, leaving Mingus to solo and anchor the entire rhythm section by himself. The resulting 1947 recording of "Mingus Fingers" became a major hit and provided Mingus with his very first taste of national exposure as both a virtuoso performer and an avant-garde composer.
Decades later, in 1977, Hampton produced Lionel Hampton Presents Charles Mingus which served as Mingus's final studio recording session playing the bass before his passing.