Pithecanthropus Erectus

Charles Mingus

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 1956
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002I7U
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,979 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
One of the great figures in modern jazz, bassist Charles Mingus was the ultimate triple threat: a master of his instrument, a jazz composer of the first rank, and an insightful leader of a series of extraordinary and incendiary bands. Raised in Los Angeles, Mingus was a devotee of Duke Ellington, whose compositional style had an unsurpassed effect on the young composer. As a player, however, Mingus was drawn to his contemporaries, who included Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, and Max Roach (indeed, Roach and Mingus co-owned their own Debut Records during the '50s). Perhaps his greatest contribution was bridging the gap between those two generations: in Mingus's music, one could always explicitly hear the continuity between the big bands and the bebop era, the affinity between the romantic and the modern. Although he had recorded extensively for numerous labels including his own Debut Records, Mingus's relationship with Atlantic would yield many of his greatest recordings. Cut in 1956, Pithecanthropus Erectus was his first date for the label, and it provided something of a breakthrough for Mingus in his use of extended compositions: the 10-minute title track, and the lovely "Profile of Jackie," are among the bassist's finest recordings. The band is notable for the inclusion of the under-recorded tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose. --Fred Goodman

Product Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mingus Playing Leads the Way, February 15, 2001

By	M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a showcase for Mingus the bassist as well as Mingus the composer. His sound is recorded extremely well, and his technique, sense of rhythm, and improvisation are just astonishing. I've never heard his bass so well before.

He begins the title cut with a 4-bar motif that's almost as compelling as "A Love Supreme." He works this motif with virtuosity, and he is especially effective in his interplay with the pianist, Max Waldron. While some may see this as a harbinger to free jazz, it's really quite accessible, and the "wild" sounds return logically to the theme. Emotionally gratifying; it's one of his best works.

The big disappointment here is "A Foggy Day (in San Francisco)." Mingus places various urban sound effects, which "The Penguin Guide to Jazz" calls superficially jokey." To me, it's just simply annoying. The repeated taxi horn sounds, etc. are just done too often. Were it not for the overall quality of the other music, I'd take away a * from this CD. Foggy Day does feature some nice sax work (Jackie McLean, J.R. Monterose), swinging bass, and some whistle blowing a la 70's and 80's funk. (Was Parliament listening?).

"Profile of Jackie" is a brief (3:07) mood piece, McLean nicely interpolates "Chelsea Bridge" and his playing is soulful and sharp. It's a beautiful ballad with nice comping by Mingus, and Willie Jones' deft touch on drums.

Love Chant is the longest piece here (14:56) and, I think, is overlooked in the Mingus discography. There's some very progressive bass work propelling an initially slightly cool jazz/modal sound. The first third features interesting percussive effects, effective abstractions on the piano, and mellow tones on the horns. After this, the beat picks up (sometimes veering into some hard bop accents), and the horns soar above Mingus' beautiful playing. Once again, the Mingus/Waldron improvisations are excellent.

Again, this is an excellent CD, even with the somewhat overdone "Foggy Day." Not sure what they did, but it has an almost live sound to it that I loved. Brief liner notes by Nat Hentoff, and more extended notes on each cut by Mingus enhance one's appreciation of each track. Very highly recommended!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mingus' first masterpiece., July 22, 2005

By	Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Pithecanthropus Erectus" is in the opinion of many (and rightly so), the first Charles Mingus masterpiece. It is on this record I really felt the "Mingus sound" began to coalesce-- that sort of playful jazz filtered through gospel and a big sense of humor sound he had, generously supported by a band that was more than capable of bringing his vision to life (including Jackie McLean blowing alto like he's got something to prove and pianist Mal Waldron).

The album's four tracks (about forty minutes of music) are each classics in their own right-- three Mingus originals and one Gershwin standard ("A Foggy Day"). All four feature fantastic arrangements, in particular the Gershwin piece that finds Mingus at his most inventive-- tenor sax fog horns, alto siren wails, scratching basses, slide whistles and so on. But in between these excursions is a fantastic swing and a monster bass solo. But as good as this is, its probably the title track that's best known-- a difficult, start-stop rhythmic piece with bizarre tempo changes and fierce group improvisation, its justifiably considered one of the greats in Mingus' catalog. The remaining two tracks ("Profile of Jackie" and "Love Chant") are no slouches either-- the former features a brilliant, wailing theme stated on alto, the latter starts as a rolling piano ballad before breaking into a fierce swing for the solo sections.

In all, a great album of Mingus' music. I'd start with "Mingus Ah Um", but this may be where to look next. Essential.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Music, poorly mastered CD, February 1, 2001

By	Kyle J. Wallace "Neverwhere74" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the musical content of this album is excellent, the mastering of this CD is, unfortunately, quite poor. The volume level of the CD is suprisingly low for a compact disk, perticulerly in light of the number of wonderfully remastered CD editions avalable for other Mingus albums on Atlantic, such as Oh Yeah!, and Blues and Roots. Pithecanthropus Erectus is a great record that sorly needs a more acceptable sonic representation than the current Atlantic edition (ATL 81456) is capable of. It would deffinitally be worth the effort of checking for a newer version of this album before purchesing this one, which is quite simply not up to par with the standerds set by other recent jazz re-issues.