THELONIOUS MONK - Thelonious Monk Trio/Plays Duke Ellington & The Unique
Thelonious Monk /Monk’s Dream
Thelonious Monk /Monk’s Dream
THELONIOUS MONK – Thelonious Monk Trio
Essential Jazz Classics EJC55658
Thelonious Monk (piano) all tracks with
Gary Mapp (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New York, October 15, 1952
Gary Mapp (bass), Max Roach (drums)
Recorded New York, December 18, 1952
Percy Heath (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, September 8, 1954
Bonus tracks – Al McKibbon (bass); Art Blakey (drums) - Recorded New York, July 23, 1951
Nelson Boyd (bass); Max Roach (drums) - Recorded New York, May 30, 1952
Henry Grimes (bass); Roy Haynes (drums) - Recorded Newport Jazz Festival, July 7, 1958
Essential Jazz Classics EJC55658
Thelonious Monk (piano) all tracks with
Gary Mapp (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New York, October 15, 1952
Gary Mapp (bass), Max Roach (drums)
Recorded New York, December 18, 1952
Percy Heath (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, September 8, 1954
Bonus tracks – Al McKibbon (bass); Art Blakey (drums) - Recorded New York, July 23, 1951
Nelson Boyd (bass); Max Roach (drums) - Recorded New York, May 30, 1952
Henry Grimes (bass); Roy Haynes (drums) - Recorded Newport Jazz Festival, July 7, 1958
THELONIOUS MONK TRIO - Plays Duke Ellington / The Unique Thelonious Monk
Essential Jazz Classics 55652
Thelonious Monk (piano) all tracks with
Oscar Pettiford (bass); Kenny Clarke (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, July 21 & 27, 1955
Oscar Pettiford (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, March 17 & April 3, 1956
THELONIOUS MONK - Monk’s Dream
Masterworks 21345
Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); John Ore (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums)
Recorded New York, October 31, November 2 & 6, 1962
Bonus Tracks feature Monk with Gary Mapp, Oscar Pettiford (bass); Art Blakey, Max Roach (drums); Ernie Henry (alto saxophone); Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone)
Recorded October 15, 1952; September 22, 1954; October 9, 1956 & April 21, 1961
Essential Jazz Classics 55652
Thelonious Monk (piano) all tracks with
Oscar Pettiford (bass); Kenny Clarke (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, July 21 & 27, 1955
Oscar Pettiford (bass); Art Blakey (drums)
Recorded New Jersey, March 17 & April 3, 1956
THELONIOUS MONK - Monk’s Dream
Masterworks 21345
Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); John Ore (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums)
Recorded New York, October 31, November 2 & 6, 1962
Bonus Tracks feature Monk with Gary Mapp, Oscar Pettiford (bass); Art Blakey, Max Roach (drums); Ernie Henry (alto saxophone); Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone)
Recorded October 15, 1952; September 22, 1954; October 9, 1956 & April 21, 1961
Three Monk reissues available almost simultaneously, two featuring trios and one quartet date along with bonus tracks. A touch of overkill maybe, but certainly not when the material is as good as this.
Odd as it may seem, Monk was the first pianist that I seriously hooked when discovering jazz. The initial attraction to the music was in hearing how the rhythm section worked together in supporting the soloist, and time served listening to trios fronted by Dudley Moore and Oscar Peterson, I was introduced to the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk. Hearing others play some of his compositions it was then only natural and logical to seek out the composer himself, and so began a life long love of Monk’s music.
One of the first LPs I acquired was Thelonious Monk recorded for Prestige and presented in its entirety here on the Thelonious Monk Trio (EJC 55658), and present the pianist in his most empathetic setting. After the classic sessions cut for Blue Note in the late forties, The Genius of Modern Music (volumes 1 & 2) there was somewhat of a barren time for Monk, but the sessions for Bob Weinstock that yielded the material here stand as testament to Monk’s greatness.
Recorded over three sessions between October 1952 and December 1954, Monk recorded some of his finest compositions including ‘Little Rootie Tootie’, ‘Bye-Ya’, ‘Bemsha Swing’ and ‘Blue Monk’ all in that unique and idiosyncratic style. For the sessions he was in the stellar company of drummers Max Roach and Art Blakey, and it is interesting listening to these tracks to listen to the difference between the two men. Roach it would seem be a logical choice to accompany Monk, with his secure grasp of the rhythmic intricacies of the pianists music along with his own innate sense of melody from his kit. More surprising perhaps is how Blakey would not just fit in seamlessly with Monk, but how he contributes to the ebb and flow in a music that is often less rhythmically direct that he would normally find himself. Adapt he may have had to, to accommodate Thelonious but throughout you will hear Blakey’s trademark patterns and press rolls albeit under a tighter rein than might otherwise be the case.
If the above is indispensible listening, almost as good is EJC 55652 Plays Duke Ellington & The Unique Thelonious Monk in a fine disc that perhaps is the way that these historic reissues should be presented. That is two complete albums, in their entirety as they were originally released without the distraction of “bonus tracks”. This set therefore brings together Monk’s first two albums for Riverside in an unashamed and blatantly obvious attempt to bring the pianist to a wider audience who might hitherto have found the pianists music “too difficult” by presenting them with more familiar material.
It is therefore much to Monk’s credit that he does so without compromising his originality, although there is a noticeable emphasis on a more conventional rhythmic feel and harmonic movement that can be put down to the fact that these are not Monk’s tunes. Thelonious treats Duke’s pieces with obvious enjoyment as opposed to a reverence that could have oppressed his own creativity, yet remaining true to the spirit of the music, aided and abetted by the impeccable Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. The second album of the pair, The Unique is possibly an even more concerted attempt to introduce the pianist to a mainstream audience in a programme made up entirely of standards. Once again, the drummer on this session is Art Blakey who lifts the set considerably as on this outing Monk is even more constrained by the material or prior instruction from producer Orrin Keepnews to keep things simple. Once again though, Monk does make memorable music that bears repeated hearing, with the album closing with a Monk staple ‘Just You, Just Me’ that would eventually be transformed into the original ‘Evidence’.
The final disc of these three, taken chronologically, find the pianist with his first label for Columbia after his less than amicable parting of the ways with Riverside. Monk’s approach on this recording seems less angular, with his signing for the big major label coming at a time when the Monk’s music seems to be entering the mainstream. The repertoire remains the familiar mixture of standards and originals, although by this time some of these had already become familiar standards themselves. There are two solo piano recitals in ‘Body And Soul’ and a brief ‘Just A Gigolo’, but the interest in the music lies with the Quartet performances with Charlie Rouse.
Much maligned at the time, with the passing of time Rouse has proved himself to be one of Monk’s ideal horn players. With his own individual sound and phrasing he seems undaunted by Thelonious’ challenging compositions, finding his own way through the intricate melodies and chord progressions and making personal statements on some of Monk’s pieces that have previously been well documented. Standout tracks on this outing must include the lengthy ‘Bright Mississippi’ and ‘Blue Bolivar Blues’ (originally titled ‘Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are’).
The quartet would go onto make better albums for Columbia, ‘Live At The It Club’ readily springs to mind, but this resissue of the original ‘Monk’s Dream’ along with the assorted bonus tracks, that include the trio with Gary Mapp and Art Blakey discussed above, is not to be sniffed at.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Odd as it may seem, Monk was the first pianist that I seriously hooked when discovering jazz. The initial attraction to the music was in hearing how the rhythm section worked together in supporting the soloist, and time served listening to trios fronted by Dudley Moore and Oscar Peterson, I was introduced to the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk. Hearing others play some of his compositions it was then only natural and logical to seek out the composer himself, and so began a life long love of Monk’s music.
One of the first LPs I acquired was Thelonious Monk recorded for Prestige and presented in its entirety here on the Thelonious Monk Trio (EJC 55658), and present the pianist in his most empathetic setting. After the classic sessions cut for Blue Note in the late forties, The Genius of Modern Music (volumes 1 & 2) there was somewhat of a barren time for Monk, but the sessions for Bob Weinstock that yielded the material here stand as testament to Monk’s greatness.
Recorded over three sessions between October 1952 and December 1954, Monk recorded some of his finest compositions including ‘Little Rootie Tootie’, ‘Bye-Ya’, ‘Bemsha Swing’ and ‘Blue Monk’ all in that unique and idiosyncratic style. For the sessions he was in the stellar company of drummers Max Roach and Art Blakey, and it is interesting listening to these tracks to listen to the difference between the two men. Roach it would seem be a logical choice to accompany Monk, with his secure grasp of the rhythmic intricacies of the pianists music along with his own innate sense of melody from his kit. More surprising perhaps is how Blakey would not just fit in seamlessly with Monk, but how he contributes to the ebb and flow in a music that is often less rhythmically direct that he would normally find himself. Adapt he may have had to, to accommodate Thelonious but throughout you will hear Blakey’s trademark patterns and press rolls albeit under a tighter rein than might otherwise be the case.
If the above is indispensible listening, almost as good is EJC 55652 Plays Duke Ellington & The Unique Thelonious Monk in a fine disc that perhaps is the way that these historic reissues should be presented. That is two complete albums, in their entirety as they were originally released without the distraction of “bonus tracks”. This set therefore brings together Monk’s first two albums for Riverside in an unashamed and blatantly obvious attempt to bring the pianist to a wider audience who might hitherto have found the pianists music “too difficult” by presenting them with more familiar material.
It is therefore much to Monk’s credit that he does so without compromising his originality, although there is a noticeable emphasis on a more conventional rhythmic feel and harmonic movement that can be put down to the fact that these are not Monk’s tunes. Thelonious treats Duke’s pieces with obvious enjoyment as opposed to a reverence that could have oppressed his own creativity, yet remaining true to the spirit of the music, aided and abetted by the impeccable Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. The second album of the pair, The Unique is possibly an even more concerted attempt to introduce the pianist to a mainstream audience in a programme made up entirely of standards. Once again, the drummer on this session is Art Blakey who lifts the set considerably as on this outing Monk is even more constrained by the material or prior instruction from producer Orrin Keepnews to keep things simple. Once again though, Monk does make memorable music that bears repeated hearing, with the album closing with a Monk staple ‘Just You, Just Me’ that would eventually be transformed into the original ‘Evidence’.
The final disc of these three, taken chronologically, find the pianist with his first label for Columbia after his less than amicable parting of the ways with Riverside. Monk’s approach on this recording seems less angular, with his signing for the big major label coming at a time when the Monk’s music seems to be entering the mainstream. The repertoire remains the familiar mixture of standards and originals, although by this time some of these had already become familiar standards themselves. There are two solo piano recitals in ‘Body And Soul’ and a brief ‘Just A Gigolo’, but the interest in the music lies with the Quartet performances with Charlie Rouse.
Much maligned at the time, with the passing of time Rouse has proved himself to be one of Monk’s ideal horn players. With his own individual sound and phrasing he seems undaunted by Thelonious’ challenging compositions, finding his own way through the intricate melodies and chord progressions and making personal statements on some of Monk’s pieces that have previously been well documented. Standout tracks on this outing must include the lengthy ‘Bright Mississippi’ and ‘Blue Bolivar Blues’ (originally titled ‘Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are’).
The quartet would go onto make better albums for Columbia, ‘Live At The It Club’ readily springs to mind, but this resissue of the original ‘Monk’s Dream’ along with the assorted bonus tracks, that include the trio with Gary Mapp and Art Blakey discussed above, is not to be sniffed at.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
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