Thelonious Monk

2-CD SET - INCLUDES 4 BONUS TRACKS

5 STARS DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE

This release presents all existing solo piano studio master takes recorded by the great Thelonious Monk from his very first ones in 1954, up to his first album for Columbia in 1962. While the majority of Monk’s recordings are in a quartet format, his unaccompanied tracks are full of magic and allow the listener to apprehend his music without the interference of other musicians.

Two rare solo piano pieces recorded at the New York home of the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter (among them the earliest existing version of “Pannonica”) and two alternate takes from the studio sessions have been added as a bonus.

PERSONNEL:

THELONIOUS MONK, unaccompanied piano

CD 1 [1-9]: Paris, France, June 7, 1954.
CD 1 [10]: Hackensack, New Jersey, September 22, 1954.
CD 1 [11]: Hackensack, New Jersey, July 27, 1955.
CD 1 [12]: Hackensack, New Jersey, March 17, 1956.
CD 1 [13-19] & CD 2 [16]: New York, April 5 & 12, 1957.
CD 2 [1]: New York, December 7, 1956.
CD 2 [2-11] & [17]: San Francisco, October 21 & 22, 1959.
CD 2 [12-13]: New York, November 1 & 2, 1962.
CD 2 [14-15]: Pannonica’s home, New York, September 1956.

INCLUDES 12-PAGE BOOKLET

CD 1: Total Time: 79:10

01 WELL YOU NEEDN’T
02 SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES
03 OFF MINOR
04 ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT
05 ERONEL
06 REFLECTIONS
07 WE SEE
08 HACKENSACK
09 EVIDENCE
10 JUST A GIGOLO
11 SOLITUDE
12 MEMORIES OF YOU
13 I DON’T STAND A GHOST OF A CHANCE
14 I SHOULD CARE
15 ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT
16 APRIL IN PARIS
17 FUNCTIONAL
18 I’M GETTING SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU
19 ALL ALONE

CD 2: Total Time: 77:17

01 I SURRENDER, DEAR
02 BLUE MONK
03 RUBY, MY DEAR
04 ROUND LIGHTS
05 EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME
06 YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY HEART
07 BLUEHAWK
08 PANNONICA
09 REMEMBER
10 THERE’S DANGER IN YOUR EYES, CHERIE
11 REFLECTIONS
12 BODY AND SOUL
13 JUST A GIGOLO
14 PANNONICA
15 LULU’S BACK IN TOWN
16 FUNCTIONAL [alt tk]
17 THERE’S DANGER IN YOUR EYES, CHERIE [alt tk]