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Tracks 1-4: PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS
Charles Mingus: bass
Jackie McLean: alto sax
J.R. Monterose: tenor sax
Mal Waldron: piano
Willie Jones: drums
New York, January 30, 1956.

Tracks 5-8: THE CLOWN
Charles Mingus: bass
Shafi Hadi [aka Curtis Porter]: alto sax, tenor sax
Jimmy Knepper: trombone
Wade Legge: piano
Dannie Richmond: drums
Jean Shepherd: narration (only on track 8)
New York, March 12 & February 13, 1957.

2 LPs on 1CD!
Two of Charles Mingus' most celebrated albums in their entirety: Pithecanthropus Erectus and The Clown. All but one of the songs included here were original compositions by Mingus. Featuring Jackie McLean, Jimmy Knepper, J.R. Monterose and Mal Waldron. Includes 16-page booklet

****1/2 Down Beat (PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS)
�Pithecanthropus is a powerful thing �sometimes gentle, sometimes savage, sometimes painfully mournful, and always absorbing." (John A. Tynan)

****1/2 Down Beat (THE CLOWN)
�There are relatively few bassists who can produce such melodic feeling. It's as if, in Mingus' hands, the instrument is capable of producing a melodic flow rather than a succession of plucked notes in a melodic pattern." (Dom Cerulli)

Pithecanthropus Erectus was 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, was firmly grounded in jazz tradition. With this album he began seeking new ways to increase the evocative power of the art form and challenge his musicians (this release includes Jackie McLean on alto sax and Mal Waldron on piano) to break preexisting conventions. He once declared to Nat Hentoff: "I am trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time." The Clown marked his second consecutive masterpiece. With Pithecanthropus, Mingus displayed a gift for airtight, focused arrangements that nonetheless allowed his players great freedom to add to the established mood of each piece. On The Clown, instead of just writing heads that provide launch points for solos, Mingus tries to evoke something specific with every tune, and even his most impressionistic forays have a strong storytelling quality. The title selection makes that explicit with a story verbally improvised by Jean Shepherd from a predetermined narrative.