Thelonious Monk
Complete 1951-1954 Recordings (EJC 55495)
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Complete 1951-1954 Recordings
Thelonious Monk
Essential Jazz Classics
8436028697786
EJC 124882
EJC 55495
JAZZ
1
Complete 1951-1954 Recordings
SELECTED AS ONE OF THE BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
AN SPLENDID CORPUS OF TRIO SETTING BY THE ENIGMATIC MONK, PLAYING HIS OWN COMPOSITIONS. INCLUDES MONK'S FIRST VERSION ON "BLUE MONK
FEATURING PERCY HEATH, AL McKIBBON, MAX ROACH and ART BLAKEY
This outstanding release presents the complete trio recordings by the Thelonious Monk Trio made between 1951 and 1954. It is an important corpus, for with the exception of his first trio session in 1947, the Plays Duke Ellington recording in 1955 and his late 1971 London encounter with Art Blakey and Al McKibbon, these are the only studio trio recordings by Monk. Thelonious’ usual setting was the quartet (with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse his most frequent collaborator), and for a couple of years he also fronted an outstanding octet/nonet, which included such outstanding figures as Clark Terry, Ray Copeland, Johnny Griffin and Phil Woods. He also used to play tunes alone during his concerts, showing his versatility and his stride roots. It is not known why he didn’t favor the trio format, but it might be related to the multiple voices present on many of Monk’s compositions, which probably made them better suited to be played with horns. However, the trio recordings compiled on this CD demonstrate that Monk’s tunes were also well suited for this setting. Moreover, here he is free to develop them without restrictions, carefully accompanied by the talents of Art Blakey and Max Roach. Moreover, these were the first recorded versions by Monk of all of his compositions included here. We have here, for instance, Thelonious’ first version of his celebrated Blue
Monk.
PERSONNEL:
THELONIOUS MONK. piano on all tracks, with:
(1-3) Percy Heath (b), Art Blakey (d), New Jersey, September 22, 1954.
(4- 7) Gary Mapp (b), Art Blakey (d), New York, October 15, 1952
(8-11) Gary Mapp (b), Max Roach (d), New York, December 18, 1952
(12-13) Al McKibbon (b), Art Blakey (d), New York, July 23, 1951
(14) Nelson Boyd (b), Max Roach (d), New York, May 30, 1952
(15) Monk, piano solo, New Jersey, September 22, 1954
TRACKS:
01 NUTTY 5:16
02 WORK 5:17
03 BLUE MONK 7:36
04 BYE-YA 2:45
05 MONK’S DREAM 3:05
06 SWEET AND LOVELY 3:34
07 LITTLE ROOTIE TOOTIE 3:05
08 BEMSHA SWING 3:09
09 REFLECTIONS 2:46
10 THESE FOOLISH THINGS 2:46
11 TRINKLE TINKLE 2:49
12 ASK ME NOW (Alternate Take) 4:26
13 ASK ME NOW 3:12
14 I’LL FOLLOW YOU 3:46
15 JUST A GIGOLO 3:00 (Bonus Track)
Total Time: 56:38
AN SPLENDID CORPUS OF TRIO SETTING BY THE ENIGMATIC MONK, PLAYING HIS OWN COMPOSITIONS. INCLUDES MONK'S FIRST VERSION ON "BLUE MONK
FEATURING PERCY HEATH, AL McKIBBON, MAX ROACH and ART BLAKEY
This outstanding release presents the complete trio recordings by the Thelonious Monk Trio made between 1951 and 1954. It is an important corpus, for with the exception of his first trio session in 1947, the Plays Duke Ellington recording in 1955 and his late 1971 London encounter with Art Blakey and Al McKibbon, these are the only studio trio recordings by Monk. Thelonious’ usual setting was the quartet (with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse his most frequent collaborator), and for a couple of years he also fronted an outstanding octet/nonet, which included such outstanding figures as Clark Terry, Ray Copeland, Johnny Griffin and Phil Woods. He also used to play tunes alone during his concerts, showing his versatility and his stride roots. It is not known why he didn’t favor the trio format, but it might be related to the multiple voices present on many of Monk’s compositions, which probably made them better suited to be played with horns. However, the trio recordings compiled on this CD demonstrate that Monk’s tunes were also well suited for this setting. Moreover, here he is free to develop them without restrictions, carefully accompanied by the talents of Art Blakey and Max Roach. Moreover, these were the first recorded versions by Monk of all of his compositions included here. We have here, for instance, Thelonious’ first version of his celebrated Blue
Monk.
PERSONNEL:
THELONIOUS MONK. piano on all tracks, with:
(1-3) Percy Heath (b), Art Blakey (d), New Jersey, September 22, 1954.
(4- 7) Gary Mapp (b), Art Blakey (d), New York, October 15, 1952
(8-11) Gary Mapp (b), Max Roach (d), New York, December 18, 1952
(12-13) Al McKibbon (b), Art Blakey (d), New York, July 23, 1951
(14) Nelson Boyd (b), Max Roach (d), New York, May 30, 1952
(15) Monk, piano solo, New Jersey, September 22, 1954
TRACKS:
01 NUTTY 5:16
02 WORK 5:17
03 BLUE MONK 7:36
04 BYE-YA 2:45
05 MONK’S DREAM 3:05
06 SWEET AND LOVELY 3:34
07 LITTLE ROOTIE TOOTIE 3:05
08 BEMSHA SWING 3:09
09 REFLECTIONS 2:46
10 THESE FOOLISH THINGS 2:46
11 TRINKLE TINKLE 2:49
12 ASK ME NOW (Alternate Take) 4:26
13 ASK ME NOW 3:12
14 I’LL FOLLOW YOU 3:46
15 JUST A GIGOLO 3:00 (Bonus Track)
Total Time: 56:38
