Charles Mingus

American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist. Born: 22 April 1922 in Nogales, Arizona, USA. Died: 5 January 1979 in Cuernavaca, Mexico (aged 56). Mingus was a forerunner in double bass technique, he also pioneered in overdubbing and cutting-up/reassembling tapes of different takes in the studio to achieve the best possible version to put on record. He also authored an autobiographical novel called "Beneath The Underdog". He died of Lou Gehrig's disease.