Customer Reviews

The Best of Thelonious Monk: The Blue Note Years

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This is the place to start if you're looking into the music of the great Thelonious Monk. Collected here are more of Monk's compositions in concentrated form than in any other place. There are many later versions of many of them, including of course by other musicians such as Steve Lacy, but these are the first recordings, the templates. You can hear the structure of the music more clearly than in any of the great Riverside records such as BRILLIANT CORNERS.

As the liner notes say, Monk's music is "always off center, but it always swings." "Well You Needn't," "In Walked Bud" and "Straight No Chaser" are up-tempo and catchy as hell -- you won't be able to get them out of your head. "Misterioso" sounds just like the title -- fractured, odd piano and vibes. Listen closely to "Skippy" and hear why no one attempted to cover it for 30 years! "Monk's Mood" is gorgeous, slow and romantic. I first heard it on Jack DeJohnette's ALBUM ALBUM from 1984 with David Murray and John Purcell on sax. Of course "Round Midnight" quickly became a standard, an ineffably sad ballad covered by Miles among many others.

Here's a fun piece of trivia -- the recording engineer for these sessions is Harry Smith. Yes, it turns out, it is THAT Harry Smith, the guy who compiled the famous Anthology of American Folk Music, recently reissued by the Smithsonian Institute. Smith used to project light shows of his own creation as accompaniment to jazz shows in the Bay Area!

These are the earliest Monk recordings to be issued on CD, apparently. All but one of the 16 short pieces is a Monk original, heard here in its first recorded form. Since Monk reused his compositions time and again, with all kinds of fellow players and at widely varying lengths over more than 20 years, the real Monk fan will find this a must-own, and will compare the later versions to these performances. The songs on this disc might seem sketchy and tentative to some listeners, while others may prefer them to renditions which later doubled the length of many items. There are some sidemen present who later became quite famous, such as Art Blakey on drums and Milt Jackson on vibes, but these late-40's releases are worth having because of the odd, interesting compositions and Monk's own evident talent. If you are a casual jazz fan who wants some Thelonious in the home collection, but who cares not for the historic value of the first records by a genius, try "Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins" or "Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane" first. Those are even better than this for pure listening pleasure. If you can afford this one as your third Monk disc, you won't be sorry.

There is only one standout on these recordings: Thelonious Monks beautiful melodic structures. The recording quality, especially the bass, is not stellar. The accompanying musicians, excepting Monk, Blakey and Milt Jackson are so-so. It's the melodies, chord structures and progressions that make you just love listening to this CD over and over again. The way he purposely plays what most consider "wrong" notes to emphasize a statement or simply just to defy the normal route our ears hear to resovle a phrase. Because of the less than stellar musicians I believe this forces the artist to guide our ears along to hear what he hears in his head but this also creates such warmth, as in Ruby My Dear and In Walked Bud etc. that I get the impression that we are listening in on session in which Monk is working out the details - it shows the creative evolvement of his line of thought. His line of thought is unique and awesome. And if for some stupid reason you believe rumors that have stated: Monk doesn't really know music theory and can't really play, then, I suggest you pick up Charlie Christian Live At Minton's (which is rippin Charlie Christian) but also is a blazing Thelonius (and Gillespie!).

There are so many beautiful mommments to choose from on this absolutely perfect album...it is the epitome of balance and grace in music.At one time or another, every track here has been my favorite one, depending on mood and circumstance....to give you an idea, I first owned this on cassete, and played it so much that I wore all of the writing off the surface.If forced to choose, I'd have to recommend 'Skippy' and 'In Walked Bud' as the two most representive tracks, simply because they put to rest that long standing fallacy that Monk lacked 'technique'.And of course 'round midnight', which somehow manages to be incredibly sad without being at all depressing.But if you really want a glimpse of Monks unparalleled ability to express emotional depth with a single, perfectly placed note or phrase....just listen to the last little run he tacks onto the end of 'April in Paris' after one of his trademarked pregnant pauses....beautiful beyond the power of words to describe....

Five stars is about nine hundred ninety five to few.

Thelonius Monk is a rare artist, an artist's artist, and this album documents thoroughly the talents displayed by Monk in his early years of recording (late 1940's and early 1950's). A jazz pianist prodigy, schooled and influenced by stride, Monk instantly gravitated to the experimentalist Jazz scene known at that time as Bop. A man of many eccentricities, the most important of which was that Monk tickled the ivories like no other. When you think you've heard it all, again and again, Monk is one of the few that really stands apart.

What more can be said that has not been said by the other reviewers. Perhaps this album is not the ideal for the casual Jazz fan, wanting a taste of Monk from time to time. But its hard to imagine a Jazz piano enthusiast that won't be desiring more and more of his works with the passing of time. Purchase this album and you'll hear Bop in it's infancy. You'll hear Jazz legends such as Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Max Roach and Milt Jackson.

This is my personal favorite of all the Monk albums of the dozen or so in my collection despite it having the poorest recording quality. Most of the pieces on this album were re-worked/recorded and inlcuded on later albums with playing time doubled or better. Yet the shorter, original versions seem to capture the essence of each work with no musical verbosity or drowning of that rythym/melody that makes them each so special.

Despite the poor quality of sound, I couldn't find it in my power to rate this album any less than five. The rythyms are just too catchy and unique to give it any less. For someone wanting a video glimpse of the person, Thelonius Monk, check out the authentic shoot "Straight, No Chaser".

I was about 17 I guess when I lent this CD from the local library. I'd never heard of Monk, I just thought the guy on the photo looked cool and what a name: Thelonious Sphere Monk! It was a whole world opening up to me. I immediately wanted to buy this Cd but it was not available at the time, so I bought Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1 & 2 instead (but the flow on these 2 CDs with all their alternate takes is not the quite the same as on this one). Since then, i've become a real Monk aficionado but as an introduction to his music, this is still the best there is. Each and every tune is marvellous .... you'll listen to it again and again.

Collecting tracks from his earlier blue note albums(genius of modern music volumes 1 and 2)of brilliance is hard to do because each cut is great...now, these 2 remastered cd's really shine with the original artwork and alternate takes...But,this CD is a sampler and the way to go as all reviewers insist..the complexity is all here as Monk strays in his world but it is all very centered,the eccentricity is structured within beautiful music.
The seeds were planted here.

Thelonious Monk is regarded as one of the most innovative jazz pianists/composers of his time, and this CD - original versions of his most popular pieces - demonstrates why. Unless you are a jazz connoisseur (and I am not), this music will probably strike you as weird at first, but it's worth listening to until you get it. In most of these pieces, Monk is accompanied by both bass and drums, or by bass, drums, saxophone, and trumpet. He sometimes played fast, sometimes sparingly, and sometimes beautiful, but it always seems right. A Washington Post music critic considers this one of the best jazz albums of all time.

Takin' that note nobody wrote and puttin' it down... yeah, that's Monk for ya. I think many of the full-length takes of these songs are better, but come on, it's MONK! The original 45-length takes are essential, too! There are a ton of jazz classics here - his bizarre but moving ballads "Ruby My Dear" and "'Round Midnight", post-bop standards such as "Thelonious", "Well You Needn't", "Monk's Mood", "Straight, No Chaser" and "In Walked Bud", and some just plain unforgettable weirdness - check out "Criss-Cross", "I Mean You", "Misterioso", "Epistrophy", "Skippy", and every melody the guy ever wrote. And definitely check out "Ask Me Now", an underrated little gem that Monk for some reason chose not to revisit at all during his career. These are the compositions that pretty much formed the basis of his classic albums - all of them included at least one remake of these songs. And they're pretty much essential sides, even though most of the time they would be improved upon as his career went on. It's an ideal Monk sampler, in short, though things would get better for the guy as his career went along.

Think of him as Joe Frazier with a piano. Like a great boxer, Thelonious Monk hits you from everywhere.
Monk's "career" suffered because his jazz was/is not a jazz you can readily dance to. Other than his friend and former collaborator John Coltrane, no other artist did more to take jazz beyond the dance halls to the contemplative realm of clubs and quiet evenings at home.
Sixteen songs recorded in six sessions from 1947 to 1951 are offered here. It's a treasure box you'll spend years digging through.
The artist signs his name right at the beginning with "Thelonious" - Ivory tinkles emerge from an early cacophony (birth and development) and end with an across-the-keys flourish. Poignantly autobiographical, to say the least.
"Monk's Mood" gives us another measure of the man. It's mellower than the preceding jaunty "April in Paris." Just when we suspect the critics might be getting Monk down he serves up "'Round Midnight." The other instruments are slow and melancholy but Monk's piano is running toward the dawn.
Monk's life and times must be part of the equation in better understanding his music. Amid the baby and money booms of post-World War II America, Monk's music can be viewed as a soundtrack for the early civil rights movement. The sharp jabs of "Evidence" and "I Mean You" are a tap on the shoulder of partying Uncle Sam, saying "Stop dancing and listen!"
With our senses girded for a polemic, Monk breezes in with "Four In One," its title pointing out that many can live together as one (E pluribus unum, after all) and "Criss Cross" holding out hope that a spirit of caring blowing from sea to shining sea can make it happen. The music's warmth and relative simplicity tell us that the cure is close at hand if we desire it.
The fact that Monk is performing his own arrangements as part of multi-piece bands clues us that salvation lies in melding individualistic with communal impulses (BTW, balancing scientific and metaphysical rides shotgun). Despite the breakdown of community amid a swelling state sector (proving yet again that government can, at best, only play a subsidiary role in fostering community), opportunities for genuine community are becoming greater and greater, philosopher Martin Heidegger wrote. The advent of the Internet and the Information Age has borne Heidegger out but we're still dogged by alienation and walls of heartache. What can help us break through? Art (as Heidegger found out) and great artists like Monk.
"Straight No Chaser" is a jazz standard in which Monk metaphorically links arms with Bop master contemporaries like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, showing that music will play an important part in a better future. The likeness of "Criss Cross" to a dance song is Monk's nod to dance that it will play a role.
"Ask Me Now" is the pause in Monk's address, in effect saying "any questions?" "Skippy," (with the great Max Roach on drums) is the dazzling postscript as well as a forerunner of TV show theme songs (part of "Skippy" sounds like the theme from 1960s "Batman"). Monk's piano language is telling us "You'll see it (the movement) played out on TV." John Fogerty ("I Saw It on TV") and Walter Cronkite ("And that's the way it was...") testify to the truth of Monk's prophecy. The movement, like Monk's music, plays on.
This master's music is a regular reminder that an instrument can go where words can't. "Ruby My Dear" is without words but is clearly a love song (the best kind since too many words ruin love). "Misterioso" and "Epistrophy" are inside-out examinations of musical art forms, prompting us to reconsider the epistemology of jazz. Were it a book, this CD would best be titled "Monk's Anatomy."