Biography

William Memlouk was born in 1977. After specializing in literature and jazz music at the graduate school of Aix-en-Provence, he became a journalist and works in several cultural magazines. He is currently editor of a psychological journal and director of collections.

"Against the background of racial segregation in America in the 1950s, Mingus Mood is inspired by the spirited and rebellious life of the famous jazzman Charlie Mingus. A first novel, sensual, lyrical and haunting, just like the music of Mingus. [...] Built up as a brilliant musical improvisation, mixing biographical and imaginary elements, this story traces the rapid trajectory of one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. Through the reconstruction of the key moments of his life, emerges the captivating portrait of a man possessed by jazz, having dedicated his entire life to music." (Presentation by the editor)

"Why did the bassist Charlie M. (meaning Mingus) decide to leave New York in 1957 for Mexico? More than twenty years after the events, a journalist found a friend of the famous jazzman. He revealed to her many secrets about this trip. Obviously it will be about music, but also about drugs, alcohol and an impossible love. [...] To enjoy, listening to the album Tijuana Moods. By Mingus, obviously." (Baptiste Liger, L'Express, October 3, 2011)

It was when she saw Charlie at a club in New York – The City Blues – that she was captured. Oh yes, it’s true, one could fault him for his way of playing. Charlie sought contact, conflict ... always. Where some musicians - like Miles Davis for example - poetically advanced in their music, he spawned himself passages in a less consensual manner, by hooks, jams, directs and uppercuts. But this man, by his attitude, also emitted grace. A mysterious, virile grace  ... an almost animal grace