Monk Williams

With his odd rhythmic spacing, discordant resolves and his circular yet angular compositional style, Thelonious Monk remains one of the most singular figures in all of jazz, and virtually every one of his recordings is as enigmatic as the pianist himself was. This set combines his five albums for Columbia Records, 1962's Criss Cross and Monk's Dream, 1964's Solo Monk, 1966's Straight, No Chaser, and 1967's Underground, in a single package, and anyone thinking Monk wasn't as vital during those years really needs to hear this stuff. It's classic Monk, and this collection is a great way to get it in a single swoop.

Jessica Williams, although hardly a household name, is actually one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1990s and her Hep CD gives listeners ample proof. She does a brilliant imitation of Thelonious Monk on the first half of "Easter Parade" (before displaying her own strong musical personality), not only capturing Monk's unique chord patterns but his touch and his wit. Throughout the rest of her colorful solo set, Williams also hints at Art Tatum and Lennie Tristano and yet comes across as a true original. Her creative interpretations of such standards as "Taking a Chance on Love," "Like Someone in Love" and a medium-tempo "I Got It Bad" are quite memorable and full of more than their share of surprises including some funny quotes from other songs. The polyrhythms on "Bongo's Waltz" are worthy of Dave Brubeck, whose tender "I Didn't Know Till You Told Me" Williams also revives.

This seventh volume in the Classics Mary Lou Williams chronology opens with a pair of gorgeous modern-sounding rhythm quartet tracks recorded in London on June 26, 1953. The next leg of her journey took her onto the northern European mainland. After a period spent gigging in France and Holland the pianist settled in Paris at the Hotel Cristal in St.-Germain-des-Prés, not far from the Deux Magots and the Café de Flore. On December 2, 1953 Mary Lou Williams recorded eight selections for the Vogue label with her good friend the perpetual expatriate tenor saxophonist Don Byas, bassist Buddy Banks, and drummer Gérard Pochonet. This exceptionally satisfying material has popped up here and there over the years but like much of Mary Lou Williams' oeuvre (and most jazz in general) it seems to have eluded the public…

Thelonious Monk - The Complete Black Lion and Vogue Recordings (1989) {3CD Set Mosaic MD3-112 rec 1954, 1971}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 620 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 403 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 52 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 1971, 1989 Black Lion / Vogue / Mosaic Records | MD3-112
Jazz / Bop / Modal Jazz / Piano

The recordings gathered in this package have been issued in a multitude of ways and are available in a number of configurations. The audiophile jazz label Mosaic Records issued The Complete Vogue Recordings/The Black Lion Sessions on vinyl initially, later releasing the title as a slightly expanded three-CD package. Chronologically, the earlier of the two sets consists of the Vogue recordings from June 7, 1954. The Black Lion sides are divided between a second batch of solo works as well as a trio session – featuring Al McKibbon (bass) and Art Blakey (drums) – both of which were cut on November 11, 1971.

Bassist Ben Williams' 2011 solo debut, State of Art, is a thoughtful contemporary and post-bop-leaning album that finds the winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition delving into several original tunes and successful pop covers. Williams is an adroit improviser with a fluid, muscular approach to the upright - as well as the electric - bass, and he showcases all of his skills here along with his ear for unexpected covers and lively originals. Tracks like the roiling, Latin-infused number "November," featuring guitarist Matthew Stevens, and the high-energy, frenetic "Mr. Dynamite" are ear-popping straight-ahead jazz moments, while the hip-hop jazz cut "The Lee Morgan Story," featuring MC/vocalist John Robinson, brings to mind such '90s innovators as Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest…

One thing about chronologically arranged reissues - you never know exactly what you're going to bump into. The third volume of the complete recordings of Mary Lou Williams, for example, opens with a pair of tunes sung by Josh White. It's good to hear the lyrics to Williams' cool, bluesy "Froggy Bottom," but "The Minute Man" is one of those obligatory, rhetorical patriotic numbers that cropped up everywhere during WWII and are relevant today only as historical curiosities. Most of the music reissued in this compilation originally appeared on scratchy 78-rpm records bearing the Asch label. Tenor sax archetype Coleman Hawkins is featured on the lush "Song in My Soul" and trumpeter Bill Coleman presides over a laid-back strolling blues with the worrisome title "Carcinoma"…