In 2017, ask any artist how much they think they have to reveal about themselves in the world of music and social media, and the answer would likely be ‘too much.’ Consider the great artists of the 1960s, who got to choose, somewhat, what they choose to let their fans know about themselves. In 1966, jazz legend Charles Mingus got evicted from his apartment at 5 Great Jones Street due to nonpayment of rent. A young documentary filmmaker named Thomas Reichman had a crew on hand the night before Mingus had to vacate the premises, and he left with some incredibly revealing footage of Mingus in a mood full of surprise, anger, calmness and resentment. If Twitter was around, he would be a trending topic in moments of the film being released to some gossip site.
Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 from BPows on Vimeo.
