Charles Mills

[SMB1968]

Anyone know anything (or even better, able to recommend anything) by Charles Mills?  I ran across reference to him in a '50s pulp paperback called Epitaph for a Tramp (by David Markson before he became a "serious" novelist).  Seems Mills was something of a third streamer & buddies w/ Freddy Redd.  I have Lateef's The Centaur and The Phoenix w/ Mills' tunes, but curious about other stuff. Gracias.

Scott

[paul secor]

Found this: https://musicalassumptions.blogspot.com/2012/09/charles-mills.html

and this: https://composers.com/charles-mills

[king ubu]

from an earlier thread on the Lateef/Knepper "Tracks in the Sand" sountrack (by Mills):

 

On ‎09‎.‎04‎.‎2015 at 2:19 PM, AllenLowe said:

look what I found:

 

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LAMBRIGHT-L Archives
Archiver > LAMBRIGHT > 2001-05 > 0989632720
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From: sheepshine@juno.com
Subject: [Lambright] Charles Mills - his Mother was a LAMBRIGHT
Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 22:42:56 -0400

Dear Listers,

Some time ago my Cousin Gale LAMBRIGHT sent me a lot of data on
Charles Henry MILLS, American Composer: Charles was born in
Asheville, NC 8 January, 1914 and died in New York City 7 March,
1982.

Charles changed his middle name to Borromeo sometime in the mid
'50's. He composed over 110 pieces including several symphonies.
One of his most famous was "Crazy Horse - Symphony No. 4".
First performed by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 28 November,
1958; named in honor of Chief Crazy Horse, Sioux Indian hero.

He was a self taught tenor recorder player, and pianist. He played
many other woodwind instruments.. His favorite was the flute.

Charles married a Miss Purra who was an accomplished fine artist.
It is thought they did not have any children but that has not been
proven. (Any information on her full name and dates would be
appreciated.)

Charles' says this about his parents: "...my parents being native
Carolinians of English and Scotch-Irish lineage. Shortly after my
birth, we moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina... As soon as America
entered World War I my father volunteered in the infantry. We saw
little of him after that, for he was wounded, shell-shocked and gassed,
and spent the remaining years of his life after the Armistice in
government hospital. My Mother and I lived alone, but we were not
morbidly depressed."

Source: "American Composers Today.. A Biographical and Critical Guide"
Compiled and Edited by David EWEN pp 171, 172

Charles' Mother was Leila LAMBRIGHT d/o Jonas (Jones) James LAMBRIGHT
and E. A. ALLEN LAMBRIGHT. Jonas was the s/o Benjamin George LAMBRIGHT
and Frances Louisa FLOYD LAMBRIGHT of Union and Spartanburg Co., SC

A sample of Charles Borromeo Mills' compositions are from the American
Composers
Association archives: See http://www.composers.com/cgi-bin/library.cgi
for the
entire list.

 

[SMB1968]

Thanks for the info gents.  In the novel (pub 1959) a Bird-obsessed junkie piano player gets caught up a sweep for a murderer & his alibi boils down to him claiming he wasn't involved because he spent the night listening to the new Charles Mills record over and over again, just made me a bit curious.

[brownie]

Great... now I know where I can file that 'Tracks in the Sand' CD.

Just trying to remember where I placed it last time I had it in hand.... 

[Niko]

must have seen this short documentary before - but only now do I appreciate that it is Charles Mills who composed the music and plays the flute ...

[Niko]

and here is an oral history by David Amram

http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/pdf/Amram_DavidOralHistoryFinalWebsite.pdf

which has a pretty amazing story involving Charles Mills that actually starts out with listening to a Charles Mills record on p.32-34. (At the top of p.32 is a Tony Fruscella anecdote I had never read btw).

[Niko]

now I am really curious... Was there a Charles Mills album to listen to in 1959? And relatedly,  what is the record Amram mentions here: "Charles  Mills used  to  come to  Mat [Matthews]'s apartment and  bring  a  copy  of  his `Crazy  Horse  Symphony' which the Cincinnati Symphony had recorded."

The fact that Rosemary Leary was at that time still living with accordionist Mat Matthews dates the story before 1965... The Cincinnati Symphony premiered the Crazy Horse symphony in 1958 but I can't find any traces of a recording... (which reminds me that it might just have been a tape or something...)