So far this is my favorite Mingus CD and for a number of reasons. I'm very picky when it comes to Avant-Garde and this release does it for me and is a perfect example I show off if someone asks where to start for Avant-Garde, besides mentioning Coltrane. It's Bop jazz and the free parts sneak in sometimes so it doesn't get to boring. The title track, Pithecanthropus Erectus, takes you on a journe... read more
Description:One of the great figures in modern jazz, bassist Charles Mingus was the ultimate triple threat: a master of his instrument, a jazz composer of the first rank, and an insightful leader of a series of extraordinary and incendiary bands. Raised in Los Angeles, Mingus was a devotee of Duke Ellington, whose compositional style had an unsurOne of the great figures in modern jazz, bassist Charles Mingus was the ultimate triple threat: a master of his instrument, a jazz composer of the first rank, and an insightful leader of a series of extraordinary and incendiary bands. Raised in Los Angeles, Mingus was a devotee of Duke Ellington, whose compositional style had an unsurpassed effect on the young composer. As a player, however, Mingus was drawn to his contemporaries, who included Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, and Max Roach (indeed, Roach and Mingus co-owned their own Debut Records during the '50s). Perhaps his greatest contribution was bridging the gap between those two generations: in Mingus's music, one could always explicitly hear the continuity between the big bands and the bebop era, the affinity between the romantic and the modern. Although he had recorded extensively for numerous labels including his own Debut Records, Mingus's relationship with Atlantic would yield many of his greatest recordings. Cut in 1956, Pithecanthropus Erectus was his first date for the label, and it provided something of a breakthrough for Mingus in his use of extended compositions: the 10-minute title track, and the lovely "Profile of Jackie," are among the bassist's finest recordings. The band is notable for the inclusion of the under-recorded tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose. --Fred Goodman... (more)(less)
Manufacturer : Atlantic / Wea Release date : 25 October 1990 Number of discs : 1 EAN: 0075678145629 UPC: 075678145629
“So far this is my favorite Mingus CD and for a number of reasons. I'm very picky when it comes to Avant-Garde and this release does it for me and is a perfect example I show off if someone asks where to start for Avant-Garde, besides mentioning Coltrane. It's Bop jazz and the free parts sneak in sometimes so it doesn't get to boring. The title track, Pithecanthropus Erectus, takes you on a journey through the age of man and much like the next track it tells a story. A Foggy Day is just perfect. When I got this CD I played in my friends stereo in his car and we almost crashed for one simple reason. In the track the Saxophone players are acting as traffic with high pitched 'car-horn' sounds, like a foggy day in San Francisco, and my friend kept thinking people were honking at him. Good time” read more
Ally Craig added this to a list 5 years, 11 months ago
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