The Unfinished Score Complete Works of Charles Mingus By Raul d’Gama Rose
It took years for Rose to put together this book about the music of Charles Mingus but in poems. Rose covers melodies, harmonies, tones, mood and tempo to illustrate Mingus’ life in poetry and prose.
Amazon USAThe Unfinished Score: Collected Works of Charles Mingus Kindle Edition by Raul da Gama (Author)
Reviewed by LB Sedlacek
It took years for Rose to put together this book about the music of Charles Mingus but in poems. Rose covers melodies, harmonies, tones, mood and tempo to illustrate Mingus’ life in poetry and prose. From the poem “Eric Dolphy”: “The weak scream raced / Across the chill continents / Shredded opportunities crowded / The sky up to America”. From the poem “Percussion Discussion”: “Stone on stone ClackClack ClackClack SszzBop / Dark rumblings in the dead of the first night to remember / First stirrings of the sound in the soul. It’s like reading a symphony but in words: Bravo!
About the Author
Raul da Gama is a musician and poet who lives in Milton, Ontario, Canada. His work continues to appear in The WholeNote Magazine and Hot House Jazz Magazine and has also appeared in DownBeat, npr and elsewhere. He is the senior writer for Toronto Cultural Media publications and also writes highly opinionated critiques on music which he publishes in JazzDaGama. This is his third book of poems and first since 1974.