Pithecanthropus Erectus

Released by Atlantic in August 1956, it was the first album on which Mingus taught his musicians the arrangements by ear instead of writing out chords and parts. The title piece is a ten-minute tone poem depicting the rise of man from hominid roots to an eventual downfall. A section is free improvisation. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave it four stars, put it in its core collection, and said the all-in ensemble work in the first track was absolutely crucial to the development of free collective improvisation in the following decade.