The Suite Pithecanthropus Erectus is - among other things - programme music. Having learned to walk upright, having achieved alleged superiority over animals, and having caused devastation, the destruction of mankind's natural resources follows. The composer Mingus gives his fellow mankind/musicians the widest possible freedom, which all exploit to the full both in interplay and in the solos. Bedded down in noise and sound collages, the piece is the result of an experimental workshop. The Gershwin classic A Foggy Day takes on the role of intermediary between the jazz styles of the 1930s and free jazz. And in Profile Of Jackie and Love Chant the arranger calls for his soloists to go to the very limits of their artistic improvisation. Speakers Corner all maintained an unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records. Pithecanthropus Erectus, A Foggy Day, Profile of Jackie, Love Chant
