Charlie Mingus – Pithecanthropus Erectus (LP Vinyl)
Product Details
Released in 1956, Pithecanthropus Erectus arrived at a pivotal moment, predating Ornette Coleman's free jazz breakthroughs by several years and staking out Mingus's own distinct path between composition and collective improvisation. The title suite draws on Darwin's name for early man, letting Mingus embed social and political commentary directly into the music's structure, a move that would define his work throughout the late 1950s and beyond.
The Suite "Pithecanthropus Erectus" is - among other things - programme music. Having learned to walk upright, having achieved alleged superiority over animals, and having caused devastation, the destruction of mankind's natural resources follows. The composer Mingus gives his fellow mankind/musicians the widest possible freedom, which all exploit to the full both in interplay and in the solos. Bedded down in noise and sound collages, the piece is the result of an experimental workshop. The Gershwin classic "A Foggy Day" takes on the role of intermediary between the jazz styles of the 1930s and free jazz. And in "Profile Of Jackie" and "Love Chant" the arranger calls for his soloists to go to the very limits of their artistic improvisation. Speakers Corner all maintained an unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
UPC: 4260019715517
Label: Speakers Corner
Release Date: 9.4.26
Format: LP Vinyl