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Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus Audio CD

A fair review of the Charles Mingus "Pithecanthropus Erectus" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Charles Mingus reviews here, or go back to the Charles Mingus tabs.

Charles Mingus Band: Charles Mingus
Title: Pithecanthropus Erectus
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Pithecanthropus Erectus 2: Foggy Day 3: Profile of Jackie 4: Love Chant

Unexpected connections....
E. This review refers to the import version of P. , which is an album recreation with a 50's expressionist painting on the cover and the original liner notes by Charles Mingus.

This recording showcases Mingus' genius not only as a jazz composer and musician, but also, by way of the liner notes, as a thoughtful artist. In the liner notes, he describes the composition "Pithecanthropus Erectus" as a "tone poem". This work is not just improvisational jazz; at its heart it is an allegory dealing with discrimination and slavery, expressed through a vision of the lives of the ancestors of modern man. The issues and the music are still relevant 50+ years after the release of the album.

The other cuts on the album range from conventional (Profile of Jackie) to inventive and humorous (A Foggy Day). There is great musicianship all the way through.

To discover the Unexpected Connections in the title of the review, find the complete version of "Woke Up This Morning" (the Sopranos theme) from "Exile on Coldharbour Lane" by A3 Woke Up This Morning. There is a spoken introduction at the beginning of the song that will point you in the right direction.


There's a Mingus among us!
The first time I listened to this piece, I got completely lost and couldn't make any sense of it. Probably no other bassist played as big a role as Charles Mingus did in helping shape modern jazz, and probably no other recording of Mingus defines his jazz quite the way this does. The second time too. By the third time I heard it, everything began falling into place, and I was toe tappin' and neck snappin' in beat with the tunes. Foggy day is probably one of the most interesting "songs" on the CD, simply to listen for how each musician makes their instrument sound like something off of a busy, crowded street when traffic is not going smoothly. With Mingus to pull the tune along, the effects are executed very brilliantly, and will have you smiling at their intricacy and cleverness. This isn't the most approachable CD in the jazz pantheon, but I think it is one everyone will eventually "get", so it is worth adding to your jazz collection. (The title line, by the way, is from The Rebel Set in The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12 (The Rebel Set / Secret Agent Super Dragon / The Starfighters / Parts: The Clonus Horror), where jazz meets B-movie wise-acres and those who know jazz and love B-movies laugh themselves sick. ).


I played the vinyl to death when I first heard this. Wish they would RE-MASTER it
Never can get enough of his compositions and the sounds of The Mingus Big Band, Mingus Orch. A Mingus fan forever, and I catch the new Mingus groups at the Iridium or Dizzy's in NYC often. and Mingus Dynasty and all with Sue Mingus's guidance.
Pithecanthropus Erectus was my introduction to Mingus so many years ago,and I have bought just about everything he and the new groups above have released since then.
Impossible to imagine this original, inventive and simply beautiful music on this album was first released 50 years ago. No one, but no one, can create music like this today. Mingus was trully a genius and it seems he is getting more and more recognition of this.
If your just getting into Mingus's music, this album is a must. The playing by Mingus and the other great young, swinging musicians on this date is more than just creative, and each of the players seems to be just perfect for this masterpiece, which contains some of Charles Mingus's best compositions
Atlantic Records, PLEASE RELEASE A RE-MASTERED VERSION OF IT. Done correctly, today's techknowlogy could do wonders for it. So many lesser albums by lesser artist have been re-mastered. WHY NOT THIS!
.


Brilliant loopy jazz for muppets
)Mingus is a groovy, humorous breakthrough. For those struggling to "connect" with jazz, coming from a pop music sensibility (where one listens for lyrics and melody instead of texture and interplay, etc. With this album I was able to bring my soul and mind back to being a child of 6 or 7 and watching Sesame Street in the safe haven presence of my big daddy reading the Sunday paper. Mingus makes music like clowns make animal balloons and magicians pull rabbits out of hats for children's birthday parties, but not in some creepy overacting way, in a very cool, 1960s-70s Sesame Street way, the muppets way. Horns interact like they're loony muppet birds speaking to one another in a comical but beautiful language. . . . repeating each other's questions as textures shift and change. Best of all is how Mingus connects modern jazz with bebop, big band, and the sound of the blues. He's like a crazy connect the dots painter, linking Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to Sun Ra in one crazy technicolor brush stroke. That said, the horns and sirens of Foggy Day are really annoying after 2 seconds and the tambourine in "Love Dance" seems really off sometimes, like some musician's little kid or jazz workshop janitor got in on the scene, picking up the one instrument no one was using. Other than that, this is a masterpiece. .


Mingus' Classic Updated For a Better Look and Sound!
The remastered sound also makes the sound quality of this album a real pleasure to listen to as well. This mini-lp replica sleeve is a real treat for fans as it very faithfully copies in great detail the original lp design. This is a worthwhile addition to any jazz fan's musical library. Recommended.


You can see a complete list of all Charles Mingus discography, or go back to the Charles Mingus tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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