Live The Thelonious Monk Quartet

Thelonious Monk - The Columbia Years '62-'68 {3CD Set Columbia–Legacy rel 2001}
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© 1962-68, 2001 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | 5099751 76882 1
Jazz / Bop / Post Bop / Piano

This aptly titled triple-disc compilation examines Thelonious Monk's final years as an active recording artist. The Columbia Years: 1962-1968 is a superior primer for those seeking a thorough overview of this fertile, expressive, and oft-maligned period of Monk's career. In addition to embracing the bright moments from Monk's early- to mid-'60s studio and live releases, compilation producer Orrin Keepnews – Thelonious' original recording producer during his formidable tenure on the Riverside label – has included several restored performances and a few previously unissued pieces as well.

Thelonious Monk Nonet - Live In Paris 1967 (1988) {France's Concert FCD 113}
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© 1967, 1988 France's Concert | FCD 113
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

Pianist/composer Thelonious Monk led a quartet throughout the 1960s but on a European tour in 1967 his group was expanded with the addition of several top horn players. This CD, which contains all of the music from a Paris concert, features Monk with his regular tenor Charlie Rouse, bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley on a couple of songs, adds trumpeter Ray Copeland to make the band a quintet and for a few numbers they are joined by trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, altoist Phil Woods and tenor-saxophonist Johnny Griffin; in addition flugelhornist Clark Terry sits in and stars on "Blue Monk." Monk had only recorded with this large a group on two prior occasions, making this rare recording a historical curiosity; more importantly the music (six of his originals) is excellent.

This sampler is comprised of performances from several different Monterey Jazz Festivals, spanning 41 years. Some of the selections (those featuring Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Sarah Vaughan) were released elsewhere in the first batch in this series of previously unavailable Monterey performances. One can assume that the other seven songs will probably be in future releases. Just judged by itself, the most rewarding selections of this sampler are an inspired Thelonious Monk romp on "Rhythm-A-Ning," an excellent "Someday My Prince Will Come" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe Henderson's exploration of "Isotope," and Dizzy Gillespie's happy calypso "Poor Joe." Most of the other performances, including the 1963 Miles Davis Quintet on "Autumn Leaves" and Jimmy Witherspoon's humorous "S.K. Blues" have their moments of interest…

Thelonious Monk - Live! At the Village Gate (1963) {Japanese Breaktime Label Xanadu Series BRJ-4536 rel 1987}
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© 1963, 1987 Xanadu / Breaktime Japan | BRJ-4536
Jazz / Bop / Modal Music / Post Bop / Piano

This LP released for the first time an above-average date by pianist Thelonious Monk and his 1963 quartet (tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist John Ore and drummer Frankie Dunlop). The recording quality is decent and, although the repertoire is conventional for Monk's groups (four originals and two brief solo versions of "Body and Soul"), both Monk and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse take consistently inventive solos while Ore and Dunlop are fine in support. A lengthy version of "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" is most memorable.

Thelonious Monk - Paris 1969 (2013) {CD+DVD5 NTSC Blue Note B001882000}
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DVD5 -> 2.36 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch | ~ 68m | ISO Image
Subs: English, Portugues, Espanol, Italiano, Deutsch, Francaias
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© 1969, 2013 Blue Note / Laser Swing Pro. | B001882000
Jazz / Bop / Piano

A lost treasure from the legendary Thelonious Monk – a live date recorded in Paris at the end of the 60s – late in Monk's life, and every bit as wonderful as his famous 60s studio work with his quartet! Of that group, only Charlie Rouse remains on tenor sax – but Rouse is more than enough to make things great, and the interplay between his tenor and Monk's piano is completely sublime – full of angular movements, underscored with plenty of soul – and given support from Nate Hygelund on bass and either Paris Wright or Philly Joe Jones on drums. There's a rough edge to the music that's really great – that sharper, more sinister vibe that Monk could have in a live setting – and titles include "Light Blue", "Bright Mississippi", "I Mean You", "Ruby My Dear", "I Love You Sweetheart Of All My Dreams", "Crepuscule With Nellie", and "Nutty". Special package comes with a bonus DVD of the performance!

Thelonious Monk - The Complete Riverside Recordings (1988) {15CD Riverside Victor Japan VDJ-25010~24 rec 1955-1961}
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© 1955-61, 1988 Riverside / Fantasy / Victor Japan | VDJ-25010~24
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

The studio and live recording sessions that Thelonious Monk cut during his six-year stay at the Riverside label are compiled over the 15 discs in the Complete Riverside Recordings. This middle era – between his early sides for Prestige and the final ones for Columbia – is generally considered Monk's most ingenious and creative period. The sessions are presented in chronological order, accurately charting the progression and diversions of one of the most genuinely enigmatic figures in popular music. The Complete Riverside Recordings explores Monk's genius with a certain degree of real-time analysis that simply listening to each of the individual albums from this era lacks.

Thelonious Monk - Live At The Jazz Workshop - Complete (1964) {2CD Set, Columbia C2K 65189 rel 2001}
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© 1964, 2001 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | C2K 65189
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

The tapes of these two 1964 San Francisco shows stayed locked up at Columbia Records until the label drew a double-LP from them shortly after Monk's death in 1982. Never issued on CD in the U.S., that album is now superseded by this packed document that nearly doubles its length, restores edited portions of several performances, and adds a dozen performances that sometimes better the original recordings. Monk, saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Larry Gales, and drummer Ben Riley are unsurprisingly on point for the dates, which are filled with numerous classics from the Thelonious book.