Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk - Monk's Blues (1968) {Columbia CK53581 rel 1994}
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© 1968, 1994 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | CK 53581
Jazz / Bop / Post Bebop / Modal Jazz / Piano

Thelonious Monk meets the mighty Oliver Nelson – the hip bigger band arranger who was helping so many other artists find their groove back in the 60s! The result is less Nelson-led than some of Oliver's other albums of the time – and instead, the arranger is nicely respectful of Monk's core sound – and still manages to led Thelonious keep the frontline strong on piano, and work with familiar players are the core who include Charlie Rouse on tenor, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. Nelson's touch seeks mostly to augment the Monkish lines with some larger horn shadings – sometimes a bit upbeat, but never more swinging than Monk might want. There's enough of a blue tone here to keep this one nicely in line with the rest of the 60s Columbia catalog for Thelonious – and titles include "Monk's Point", "Consecutive Seconds", "Let's Cool One", and "Rootie Tootie". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Blue Monk" and "Round Midnight".

As the '50s drew to a close, so did Thelonious Monk's illustrious tenure on Riverside Records. In fact, the three dates needed for this title would be his penultimate for the label. The album's concept placed five Monk originals into a five-person (read: quintet) setting. Ironically, this was the first time that Monk had recorded with a lineup that so prominently displayed a "standard" bop rhythm section with both a trumpet and sax player. The quintet on 5 by Monk by 5 (1959) finds the pianist supported by Thad Jones (cornet), Sam Jones (bass), Art Taylor (drums), and Charlie Rouse (tenor sax) – who would continue working with the artist as Monk's (more or less) permanent tenor saxophonist for the majority of the '60s. In what had become somewhat of a tradition, the disc's program boasts several of Monk's more established melodies coupled with a few recent works.

Despite various reissue formats over several decades, the seven original LPs contained in Thelonious Monk - The Riverside Tenor Sessions stood perfectly well on their own at the time of initial release and remain among the highest achievements of a truly golden age. Recorded and released between 1956 and 1961, these seven Monk combo albums were critical in Monk's emergence from a decade of ridicule and neglect to his status at the pinnacle of the jazz pantheon. In addition to some of his best recorded piano performances and more than two dozen of his profoundly personal compositions, these albums provide an overview of the era's major tenor saxophonists, with contributions by Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, Charlie Rouse and Harold Land…

On “Monk Suite,” the Kronos Quartet does a great tribute to Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Truly, it’s a perfect match. This project has today’s most inventive string quartet playing the cerebral and swingin’ music of Monk. As the second most recorded Jazz composer, Thelonious Monk themed projects are far from rare. That said, “Monk Suite” stands out because after all, it’s Kronos. Whether it’s Bill Evans or Philip Glass , the group has a way of making covers their own. Kronos starts things off with a fantastic ‘Well You Needn’t.’

Thelonious Monk & Gerry Mulligan - Mulligan Meets Monk (1957) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2013, item 24of33}
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© 1957, 2013 Riverside / Concord | 60th Anniversary of Riverside Records | 0888072345904
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Saxophone / Piano

Concord Music Group will release five new titles in its Original Jazz Classics Remasters series. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, several bonus tracks on nearly each disc (some previously unreleased) and new liner notes providing historical context to the original material, the series celebrates the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records, the prolific New York-based label that showcased some of the most influential jazz artists and recordings of the 1950s and '60s.