Richard Wang discusses Charles Mingus' "Epitaph"
Jazz scholar and historian Richard Wang discusses Charles Mingus' "Epitaph", a 4,237 measure-long composition. Wang discusses Mingus’ upbringing and how he was trained on the trombone originally. Throughout the interview, performances of the Epitaph are played and Wang notes in the composition where listeners can hear Mingus’ classical training, as well as where other classical musicians, such as Duke Ellington and Claude Debussy, most likely were referenced as inspiration in the composition.