At the Blackhawk [Live]

Thelonious Monk, T. S. Monk | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YH4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,562 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Monk at his "live" best, February 15, 2000

By 

Michael A. Lopez (Fremont, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Blackhawk (Audio CD)

This album was recorded in San Francisco's legendary Blackhawk jazz club. It turned out to be a last-minute project, as originally Monk was to perform with west coast drummer Shelly Manne, but the sound was not there. A last-ditch, one night only effort by the producer added trumpeter Joe Gordon and sax player Harold Land. The result was a very creative piece of work done in a very intimate setting. Monk, known for his "odd times" and "strange keys", sounded as if he had much more than just the one day of rehearsal prior to that night. It was recorded live in a club, and the full accompanyment of sounds heard in intimate jazz clubs of the day are prevalent. Cross talk, phones ringing, dinnerware and cash registers chinging can be heard faintly in the background, but that is part of what makes this album special. If you have the right sound system, you will actually feel as if you're in the Blackhawk with Monk on that night in 1960.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my most listened-to Monk record, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: At the Blackhawk (Audio CD)

Of about twenty Monk records in my collection, this is the one I listen to most often. In fact, out of hundreds or thousands of recordings across many genres, this is one of those I listen to again and again. It hasn't gotten filed away for years. I can't tell you why in analytical terms, but that fact alone has to count for something. I was inspired to comment here because a previous reviewer referred to "some guys talking during the bonus tracks". True, a nearly-comprehensible conversation among members of the audience is captured on one of those tracks, but I have always thought that the annoyance was interesting since one of the voices sounds unmistakably like Orrin Keepnews, the record's producer and founder of Riverside Records. I guess its a fluke that I know what his voice sounds like to begin with - I've heard him speak occasionally at jazz shows and festivals around the Bay Area. Anyway, that's not a reason to buy the record, its just not a reason not to. I guess I like "At The Blackhawk" because it documents Thelonious and his associates on a typically oustanding night on the road in a small club in San Francisco in 1960.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is Great Jazz, May 15, 2005

By 

R. Graham "RONNY" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: At the Blackhawk (Audio CD)

A previous reviewer describes this performance as "a hurried attempt to salvage a failed session.." and goes on to direct you to other albums instead. DO NOT BE MISLEAD!

If you've an ear for music, if you love music, you will find every sense filled, every want satisfied with this wonderful album. Like the reviewer above, I am not going to tell you about the mood or health of the musicians present, or quote info out of context - these 'snippets' are generally misleading.

This is without any doubt, one of the best Monk albums out there. This is great jazz, great music, even if some of the anoraks don't see it!