At Town Hall [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: B000000Y7U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,206 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Sized Monk!, April 3, 2004

By 

Clare Quilty (a little pad in hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Town Hall (Audio CD)

Ordinarily, I prefer Monk in a trio setting. My favorite of his albums is "Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington," in which it's just Monk's piano, drums and bass. That, to me, is just enough accompaniment to garnish his sound without crowding it.

But oddly enough, I love the 1959 Town Hall Concert, in which Monk is part of a 10-piece band. I think it's something about the combination of Jay McAllister's tuba, Sam Jones' rubbery bass and the beautiful oddball baritone saxophone of Pepper Adams.

This stuff swings ("Friday the 13th") and it's a fun album but also clearly a product of intense concentration on all sides. It's full of beautiful, melancholy moments ("Monk's Mood") but it also tweaks a Monk staple ("Crepsucule with Nellie"). And it just has some great, kick back and listen gems: a nicely bulked-up "Thelonious," and "Off Minor" and "Little Rootie Tootie" (both within the concert and as an encore).

An excellent album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monk at the top of his game!, May 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: At Town Hall (Audio CD)

How do you explain this album except to say "WOW!" Thelonious and a bunch of horns blowing through some of his coolest compositions from up to that point. People have said that this is how Monk heard his music. Given the creativity and energy that went into these arrangements, I don't doubt that for one second. An excellent album, and a must have for any serious jazz collection

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars flat out perfect, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: At Town Hall (Audio CD)

Yhis was my introduction to Thelonious Monk and it blew me away. The orchestra does wonders-it never loses the intimacy of Monk's music, it just gains intensity. Thelonious, the first track, never sounded better than with the furious, wailing treatment it gets here. My favorite Monk album