Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus

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.