Pithecanthropus Erectus (album)

1956 studio album by Charles Mingus

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Studio album by

Charles Mingus

Released| August 1956 (1956-8)[1][2]
Recorded| January 30, 1956
Studio| Audio-Video Studios
New York City
Genre| Jazz, post-bop
Length| 36:36
Label| Atlantic
Producer| Nesuhi Ertegun
Charles Mingus chronology
| Mingus at the Bohemia
(1956)  | Pithecanthropus Erectus
(1956)  | The Clown
(1957)

|
|

Pithecanthropus Erectus is a studio album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus. It was released in August 1956 through Atlantic Records.[1][2] Mingus noted that this was the first album where he taught arrangements to his musicians by ear instead of putting the chords and arrangements in writing.[3]

## Music

[edit]

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 refers to the Java Man fossil, which at the time of its discovery was the oldest human fossil ever found.

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [7]
Tom Hull| A[8]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings| [9]
Q| [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [5]
Vibe| (not rated)[6]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz 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".[9] 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

[edit]

All tracks composed by Charles Mingus except where noted.

1. "Pithecanthropus Erectus" – 10:36
2. "A Foggy Day" – 7:50 (George Gershwin)
3. "Profile of Jackie" – 3:11
4. "Love Chant" – 14:59

## Personnel

[edit]

### Musicians

[edit]

* Charles Mingus – bass
* Jackie McLean – alto saxophone
* J. R. Monterose – tenor saxophone
* Mal Waldron – piano
* Willie Jones – drums

### Production

[edit]

* Tom Dowd – recording engineering
* Hal Lustig – recording engineering

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Parnes, Sid, ed. (August 4, 1956). "August Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. p. 12\. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 3, 2023.+Cash+Box&rft.atitle=August+Album+Releases&rft.pages=12&rft.date=1956-08-04&rft_id=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1956/CB-1956-08-4-OCR-Page-0012.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Pithecanthropus+Erectus+(album)" class="Z3988">
2. ^ a b Ackerman, Paul, ed. (August 25, 1956). "Reviews and Ratings of New Jazz Albums". The Billboard. Cincinnati: The Billboard Publishing Co. p. 29.+Billboard&rft.atitle=Reviews+and+Ratings+of+New+Jazz+Albums&rft.pages=29&rft.date=1956-08-25&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=jAoEAAAAMBAJ&pg;=PA29&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Pithecanthropus+Erectus+(album)" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Huey, Steve. "Pithecanthropus Erectus - Charles Mingus | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
4. ^ "The essential early Mingus set" (December 2001) Q, p. 160.
5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 477.
6. ^ "The Vibe 100" (December 1999) Vibe, p.162. (Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century.)
7. ^ Huey, Steve. "Pithecanthropus Erectus - Charles Mingus | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
8. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Essential Jazz Albums of the 1950s". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
9. ^ a b Cook, Richard & Morton, Brian (2008) The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, p. 1001. Penguin.

* v
* t
* e

Charles Mingus

Discography

Studio
albums|

* The Jazz Experiments of Charlie Mingus
* Jazz Composers Workshop
* Pithecanthropus Erectus
* The Clown
* East Coasting
* Mingus Three
* A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry
* Mingus Ah Um
* Blues & Roots
* Mingus Dynasty
* Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
* Pre-Bird
* Mingus
* Oh Yeah
* Tijuana Moods
* Money Jungle
* The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
* Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
* Tonight at Noon
* Mingus Plays Piano
* Blue Bird
* Pithycanthropus Erectus
* Let My Children Hear Music
* Mingus Moves
* Changes One
* Changes Two
* Three or Four Shades of Blues
* His Final Work
* Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
* Something Like a Bird
* Charles Mingus with Orchestra
* Reincarnation of a Lovebird

Live
albums|

* Mingus at the Bohemia (1956)
* Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland (1959)
* The Complete Town Hall Concert (1962)
* The Charles Mingus Quintet & Max Roach (1963)
* Astral Weeks (1964)
* Town Hall Concert (1964)
* Revenge! (1964)
* The Great Concert of Charles Mingus (1964)
* Mingus in Europe Volume I (1964)
* Mingus in Europe Volume II (1964)
* Right Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop (1964)
* Mingus at Monterey (1964)
* My Favorite Quintet (1965)
* Music Written for Monterey 1965 (1965)
* Charles Mingus Sextet In Berlin (1970)
* Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert (1972)
* Mingus at Antibes (1974)
* Mingus at Carnegie Hall (1974)
* Cornell 1964 (2007)

Books|

* Beneath the Underdog (1971 autobiography)

Related|

* Mingus Big Band
* Mingus Big Band Live at Jazz Standard
* Mingus Dynasty
* Sue Mingus
* Jazz at Massey Hall (1953)
* Weary Blues (1958)
* Newport Rebels (1960)
* Pepper Adams Plays the Compositions of Charlie Mingus (1964)
* Mingus (1979)
* Epitaph (1990)
* Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968
* Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog (1998 documentary)

* v
* t
* e

Jackie McLean

Year(s) indicated are for the recording(s), not first release, except for the compilation section.

As leader

co-leader|

* Presenting... Jackie McLean (1955)
* Lights Out! (1956)
* 4, 5 and 6 (1956)
* Jackie's Pal (1956)
* McLean's Scene (1957–59)
* Jackie McLean & Co. (1957)
* Makin' the Changes (1957)
* A Long Drink of the Blues (1957)
* Strange Blues (1957)
* Alto Madness (1957)
* Fat Jazz (1957)
* Jackie's Bag (1959–60)
* New Soil (1959)
* Swing, Swang, Swingin' (1959)
* Capuchin Swing (1960)
* Street Singer (with Tina Brooks, 1960)
* Bluesnik (1961)
* A Fickle Sonance (1961)
* Let Freedom Ring (1962)
* Tippin' the Scales (1962)
* Vertigo (1962–63)
* Hipnosis (1962–67)
* One Step Beyond (1963)
* Destination... Out! (1963)
* It's Time! (1964)
* Action Action Action (1964)
* Right Now! (1965)
* Jacknife (1965–66)
* Consequence (1965)
* New and Old Gospel (1967)
* 'Bout Soul (1967)
* Demon's Dance (1967)
* Live at Montmartre (1972)
* Ode to Super (1973)
* A Ghetto Lullaby (1973)
* Altissimo (1973)
* The Meeting (1973)
* The Source (1973)
* Antiquity (1974)
* New York Calling (1974)
* New Wine in Old Bottles (1978)
* One Night with Blue Note Preserved Volume 2 (1985)
* It's About Time (1985)
* Hat Trick (1996)

With
others|

* The Happy Blues (Gene Ammons, 1956)
* Jammin' with Gene (Gene Ammons, 1956)
* Funky (Gene Ammons, 1957)
* Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (Gene Ammons, 1957)
* Hard Bop (Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers, 1956)
* Originally (Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers, 1956 [1982])
* Drum Suite (Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers, 1956–57)
* A Night in Tunisia (Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers, Vik/RCA, 1957)
* Ritual: The Modern Jazz Messengers (Art Blakey, 1957)
* Tough! (Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers, 1957)
* Back to the Tracks (Tina Brooks, 1960)
* 2 Guitars (Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney, 1957)
* Off to the Races (Donald Byrd, 1958)
* Fuego (Donald Byrd, 1959)
* Byrd in Flight (Donald Byrd, 1960)
* Cool Struttin' (Sonny Clark, 1958)
* Dig (Miles Davis, 1951)
* Quintet/Sextet (Miles Davis, 1955)
* Davis Cup (Walter Davis Jr., 1959)
* Inta Somethin' (Kenny Dorham, 1961)
* Matador (Kenny Dorham, 1962)
* Tuba Sounds (Ray Draper, 1957)
* 2 Trumpets (Art Farmer, 1957)
* Bird Songs: The Final Recordings (Dizzy Gillespie, 1992)
* To Bird with Love (Dizzy Gillespie, 1992)
* Pithecanthropus Erectus (Charles Mingus, 1956)
* Blues & Roots (Charles Mingus, 1958)
* Mobley's Message (Hank Mobley, Prestige, 1956)
* Hi Voltage (Hank Mobley, 1967)
* Evolution (Grachan Moncur III, 1963)
* Lee-Way (Lee Morgan, 1960)
* Tom Cat (Lee Morgan, 1964)
* Cornbread (Lee Morgan, 1965)
* Infinity (Lee Morgan, 1965)
* Charisma (Lee Morgan, 1966)
* The Sixth Sense (Lee Morgan, 1967–68)
* The Music From "The Connection" (Freddie Redd, 1960)
* Shades of Redd (Freddie Redd, 1960)
* Redd's Blues (Freddie Redd, 1961)
* Open House (Jimmy Smith, 1960)
* Plain Talk (Jimmy Smith, 1960)
* Taylor's Wailers (Art Taylor, 1957)
* Mal/2 (Mal Waldron, 1957)
* Left Alone (Mal Waldron, 1959)
* Left Alone '86 (Mal Waldron, 1986)
* Easterly Winds (Jack Wilson, 1967)

Film and TV
appearances|

* The Connection (Shirley Clarke, 1961)
* Jazz (Ken Burns, 2000)

* v
* t
* e

Mal Waldron

Year(s) indicated are for the recording(s), not first release.

leader

co-leader|

* Mal-1 (1956)
* Mal/2 (1957)
* The Dealers (1957)
* Mal/3: Sounds (1958)
* Just Wailin' (1958)
* Mal/4: Trio (1958)
* Left Alone (1959)
* Impressions (1959)
* The Quest (1961)
* Sweet Love, Bitter (1967)
* Ursula (1969)
* Free at Last (1969)
* Tokyo Bound (1970)
* Tokyo Reverie (1970)
* Blood and Guts (1970)
* Spanish Bitch (1970
* The Opening (1970)
* Mal: Live 4 to 1 (1970)
* The Call (1971)
* First Encounter (1971)
* Number Nineteen (1971)
* Black Glory (1971)
* Mal Waldron Plays the Blues (1971)
* Signals (1971)
* Journey Without End (1971)
* Blues for Lady Day (1972)
* A Little Bit of Miles (1972)
* Jazz a Confronto 19 (1972)
* A Touch of the Blues (1972)
* Mal Waldron on Steinway (1972)
* Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet (1972)
* The Whirling Dervish (1972)
* Meditations (1972)
* Up Popped the Devil (1973)
* Hard Talk (1974)
* Moods (1977)
* Mingus Lives (1979)
* Mal 81 (1981)
* Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 (1981)
* What It Is (1981)
* One Entrance, Many Exits (1982)
* In Retrospect (1982)
* Breaking New Ground (1983)
* Mal Waldron Plays Eric Satie (1983)
* You and the Night and the Music (1983)
* Encounters (1984)
* Dedication (1985)
* Sempre Amore (1986)
* Left Alone '86 (1986)
* Update (1986)
* The Git Go – Live at the Village Vanguard (1986)
* The Seagulls of Kristiansund (1986)
* Our Colline's a Treasure (1987)
* Remembering the Moment (1987)
* The Super Quartet Live at Sweet Basil (1987)
* Mal, Dance and Soul (1987)
* Evidence (1988)
* Art of the Duo (1988)
* No More Tears (For Lady Day) (1988)
* Crowd Scene (1989)
* Where Are You? (1989)
* Quadrologue at Utopia (1989)
* More Git' Go at Utopia (1989)
* Spring in Prague (1990)
* Hot House (1990)
* I Remember Thelonious (1992)
* My Dear Family (1993)
* Waldron-Haslam (1994)
* After Hours (1994)
* Communiqué (1994)
* Mal, Verve, Black & Blue (1994)
* Two New (1995)
* Silence (with David Murray, 2001)

With
Gene
Ammons|

* Jammin' with Gene (1956)
* Funky (1957)
* Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (1957)
* The Big Sound (1958)
* Groove Blues (1958)
* Velvet Soul (1962)
* Angel Eyes (1962)
* Sock! (1962)

With
Jackie
McLean|

* 4, 5 and 6 (1956)
* Jackie's Pal (1956)
* Jackie McLean & Co. (1957)
* Makin' the Changes (1957)
* A Long Drink of the Blues (1957)
* Strange Blues (1957)
* McLean's Scene (1957)

With
Charles Mingus|

* Jazz Composers Workshop (1954)
* Mingus at the Bohemia (1955)
* The Charles Mingus Quintet & Max Roach (1955)
* Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956)
* Blues & Roots (1959)

With the
Prestige
All Stars|

* Baritones and French Horns (aka, Dakar, 1957)
* Four Altos (1957)
* Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (1957)
* The Prestige Jazz Quartet (1957)
* Wheelin' & Dealin' (1957)

With
others|

* All Night Long (Kenny Burrell, 1956)
* Earthy (Kenny Burrell, 1957)
* 2 Guitars (Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney, 1957)
* Where? (Ron Carter, 1961)
* The Teddy Charles Tentet (1956)
* Coolin' (Teddy Charles, 1957)
* Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette (John Coltrane & Paul Quinichette, 1957)
* Coltrane (1957)
* Dakar (John Coltrane, Pepper Adams & Cecil Payne, 1957)
* At the Five Spot (Eric Dolphy, both volumes, 1961)
* Tuba Sounds (Ray Draper, 1957)
* Hornful of Soul (aka, Catwalk, Bennie Green, 1960)
* Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport (1957)
* Lady in Satin (Billie Holiday, 1958)
* So Warm (Etta Jones, 1961)
* After Hours (Thad Jones, 1957)
* Olio (Thad Jones, 1957)
* Reflections: Steve Lacy Plays Thelonious Monk (1958)
* Straight Ahead (Abbey Lincoln, 1961)
* Teo (Teo Macero, 1957)
* On the Sunny Side (Paul Quinichette, 1957)
* Percussion Bitter Sweet (Max Roach, 1961)
* It's Time (Max Roach, 1962)
* Speak, Brother, Speak! (Max Roach, 1962)
* For Lady (Webster Young, 1957)

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