8436559466301
8435723701668

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Charles Mingus

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Format: LP

Cat No: 950689

PRE-ORDER: This item will be shipped with the aim to deliver on release day.

Release Date:  08 November 2019

Label:  Waxtime In Color

Packaging Type:  Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  8436559466301

Genres:  Jazz  

Release Date:  11 April 2025

Label:  Jazz Wax

Packaging Type:  Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  8435723701668

Genres:  Jazz  

  • Description

    WAXTIME IN COLOR

    LIMITED EDITION 180g COLORED (MAUVE) VINYL + BONUS TRACK + UNIQUE STICKER

    CHARLES MINGUS - 'PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS

    This 1956 Atlantic album by the highly influential and revolutionary jazz musician, composer and arranger Charles Mingus is generally recognised as the man's first attempts at recording music according to his principles of individual player improvisation within Mingus' own defined framework, comprising both musical definition and, equally importantly, feel. What is also particularly notable about this album and, in particular, in its legendary title piece, is that it is possible to detect (in the composition and playing) Mingus' conception and belief that all forms of music, in particular jazz and classical, should be fused into a single form, a concept that he would take to its ultimate conclusion on his later masterpiece, The 'Black Saint And The Sinner Lady'.

    According to Mingus' liner notes, the title song is a ten-minute tone poem, 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 translates into "Upright Ape-Man", which holds a dual meaning with "upright", referring to Mingus' bass.

    Includes a live version of album track 'Love Chant' recorded at Cafe Bohemia in New York in December 1955.

    Charles Mingus - bass & leader; Jackie McLean - alto sax; J.R. Monterose - tenor sax; Mal Waldron - piano; Willie Jones - drums. Recorded New York, January, 1956.

    Description

    Limited edition 180g vinyl audiophile pressing - the complete LP + 2 bonus tracks.

    'Pithecanthropus Erectus' was Charles Mingus' breakthrough as a leader, the album where he established himself as a composer of boundless imagination and a fresh new voice that, despite his ambitiously modern concepts, were firmly entrenched in jazz tradition.

    The tune that gave the album its name is one of Mingus' true masterpieces: a four-movement tone poem depicting man's evolution from pride and accomplishment to hubris and slavery, and finally to ultimate destruction. This was the first album where Mingus tailored his arrangements to the personalities of his musicians, teaching the pieces by ear instead of formally writing everything out.

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. Pithecanthropus Erectus
      • 2. A Foggy Day
      • 3. Profile Of Jackie
      • 4. Love Chant
      • 5. Love Chant (live Version)

    Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS
      • 2. A FOGGY DAY
      • 3. LOVE CHANT [1955 version]

      Side 2

      • 1. PROFILE OF JACKIE
      • 2. LOVE CHANT
      • 3. A FOGGY DAY [1955 version]