''Pithecanthropus Erectus'' is a 1956 album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

composer and bassist

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

. Mingus noted that this was the first album where he taught arrangements to his musicians by ear in lieu of putting the chords and arrangements in writing.

Music

According to Mingus' liner notes, the title song is a ten-minute

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

, depicting the rise of man from his hominid roots ('' Pithecanthropus erectus'') to an eventual downfall due to "his own failure to realize the inevitable emancipation of those he sought to enslave, and his greed in attempting to stand on a false security." The song's title refers to the Java Man fossil, which at the time of its discovery was the oldest human fossil ever found.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' gave it a maximum four-star rating and included it in its “core collection” of essential recordings, describing it as "One of the truly great modern jazz albums".Cook, Richard & Morton, Brian (2008) ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'', p. 1001. Penguin. In the same review, "the all-in ensemble work" in parts of the first track, "Pithecanthropus Erectus", is described as being "absolutely crucial to the development of free collective improvisation in the following decade".

Track listing

''All tracks composed by Charles Mingus except where noted.'' #"Pithecanthropus Erectus" – 10:36 #"

A Foggy Day "A Foggy Day" is a popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film '' A Damsel in Distress''. It was originally titled "A Foggy Day (In London Town)" in reference t ...

" – 7:50 (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

) #"Profile of Jackie" – 3:11 #"Love Chant" – 14:59

Personnel

Musicians

– bass *

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

– alto saxophone * J. R. Monterose – tenor saxophone *

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

– piano * Willie Jones – drums

Production

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...

– recording engineering * Hal Lustig – recording engineering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pithecanthropus Erectus 1956 albums Charles Mingus albums Atlantic Records albums America Records albums Albums produced by Nesuhi Ertegun