JOHN COLTRANE & THELONIOUS MONK - Complete Studio Master Takes
JAZZ IMAGES 38006
John Coltrane (ts); Thelonious Monk (p); Ray Copeland ,Don Cherry (t); Gigi Gryce (as), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Wilbur Ware, Percy Heath (b), Shadow Wilson, Art Blakey, Ed Blackwell (d).
This release offers all of the master takes from the famous LP sessions that produced Monk’s Music and Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane along with an added trio set featuring Monk, Ware and Trane and a track from an Atlantic record featuring the tenor man with Don Cherry. Those original issues were firmly Monk releases but here Jazz Images is clearly confident that Coltrane should be the leader. It does offer a comprehensive overview of two classic sessions although there are a number of important alternate takes available. For those you need to get the 2 CD Riverside issue that came out a few years ago.
These tracks though are pretty essential to any serious jazz enthusiast. The long Epistrophy and even longer Well You Needn’t have top drawer solos from Trane, Monk, Hawkins and Blakey and it is safe to say that Monk never had such a line up again on records. The Monk’s Music session was recorded in mono and simultaneously on a portable stereo recorder by Riverside’s staff engineer Ray Fowler. The problem was that the recording studio was not set up for stereo in June 1957 so an arrangement had to be made. The original stereo LPs had a fairly bad balance but that has been corrected for this release. These though are certainly some of Monk and Coltrane’s best recordings of the time. The solos sparkle all through and the rhythm drives all before it courtesy of Ware and, particularly Blakey. Wonderful stuff!
Even more important and musically satisfying are the three tracks that represent the only studio recordings ever captured of the famous Monk, Coltrane, Ware, Wilson quartet that caused such a stir at the Five Spot Café in NYC in the summer of 1957. These were recorded in mono in ’57 but the music is so good it really doesn’t matter. The Trio track and Bemsha Swing, which does not feature Monk, complete a really essential jazz package.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
JAZZ IMAGES 38006
John Coltrane (ts); Thelonious Monk (p); Ray Copeland ,Don Cherry (t); Gigi Gryce (as), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Wilbur Ware, Percy Heath (b), Shadow Wilson, Art Blakey, Ed Blackwell (d).
This release offers all of the master takes from the famous LP sessions that produced Monk’s Music and Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane along with an added trio set featuring Monk, Ware and Trane and a track from an Atlantic record featuring the tenor man with Don Cherry. Those original issues were firmly Monk releases but here Jazz Images is clearly confident that Coltrane should be the leader. It does offer a comprehensive overview of two classic sessions although there are a number of important alternate takes available. For those you need to get the 2 CD Riverside issue that came out a few years ago.
These tracks though are pretty essential to any serious jazz enthusiast. The long Epistrophy and even longer Well You Needn’t have top drawer solos from Trane, Monk, Hawkins and Blakey and it is safe to say that Monk never had such a line up again on records. The Monk’s Music session was recorded in mono and simultaneously on a portable stereo recorder by Riverside’s staff engineer Ray Fowler. The problem was that the recording studio was not set up for stereo in June 1957 so an arrangement had to be made. The original stereo LPs had a fairly bad balance but that has been corrected for this release. These though are certainly some of Monk and Coltrane’s best recordings of the time. The solos sparkle all through and the rhythm drives all before it courtesy of Ware and, particularly Blakey. Wonderful stuff!
Even more important and musically satisfying are the three tracks that represent the only studio recordings ever captured of the famous Monk, Coltrane, Ware, Wilson quartet that caused such a stir at the Five Spot Café in NYC in the summer of 1957. These were recorded in mono in ’57 but the music is so good it really doesn’t matter. The Trio track and Bemsha Swing, which does not feature Monk, complete a really essential jazz package.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
