Onstage company
Documented collaborators
The Charles Mingus Orchestra is a distinctive,10-piece jazz ensemble formed in 1999 by Sue Mingus to explore Charles Mingus’s broad and adventurous repertoire. By expanding the tonal palette with instruments like bassoon, bass clarinet, French horn, and guitar, the orchestra creates nontraditional textures that complement Mingus’s core big-band sound. Based in New York and frequently sharing stages with Mingus Dynasty and the Mingus Big Band, the orchestra has a storied history of inventive performances and collaborations.