Customer Reviews

Brilliant Corners (20 Bit Mastering)

5 star:		(7)
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Thelonius Monk is one of the few musicians to create his own true musical universe, not unlike what Bach did in the 18th century, paving classical music structure in the process. But while Bach's apparent concentration was to maintain a tidy, logical ship, Monk's musical universe consisted of pushing the envelope of the musical consensus to near breaking point on a consistent basis.
Listening to this album, starting with the punishingly beautiful title track (my all-time jazz favorite), you will be challenged with one of the most cerebrally unique in-your-face complex musical statements of all time. Monk was a master juggler of tension, luring you forward, and taking you aback with creative precision. I must have listened to it so many times that I have practically learned every musical nuance of the song (even the improvised solos) and now view it as a classical piece in itself.
The rest of the album follows suit, with "Panonnica" being another particular standout. Every chord change of that song seems to send you further into the twilight, With Monk's Celeste adding a misty taste.
This album is an absolute cure from the conventional. Whenever I get disillusioned which direction the zeitgeist is heading at any particular moment, This album provides a much-needed change of perspective. I bought Monk's 15-CD Complete Riverside Recordings box set, but this album is still his best. Not really for Celine Dion fans, but may be a solution to that and similar afflictions.

In 1956, Thelonious Monk was still not widely known. Revered by musicians, his reputation with the public sat on a handful of compositions, a few sideman dates, a bunch of sides for Blue Note and a handful of albums. It was into this that he recorded on his best, 1956's "Brilliant Corners". His first album for Riverside to be by and large a feature for his compositions (only "I Surrender, Dear", a solo piano piece, is a standard, and you wouldn't know it by listening) recorded with a supportive band, this is Monk beginning to peak, and it shows.

One thing that's pretty clear throughout the album is many of the things that make Monk's music what it is-- the fractured rhythms, the bizarre harmonies, that dry swing he mastered. Even the standard he performs is totally enveloped in his sound and concept. The first three cuts feature a band with reedmen Ernie Henry (alto) and Sonny Rollins (tenor), bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Max Roach. From opener "Brilliant Corners", you can see the music is inspirational to the sidemen-- the odd harmony implies a third part, and both Rollins and Roach take remarkably powerful and lyrical solos. The remainder of the session finds the leader in rare form, with a slow, patient and breathtaking solo on blues "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are".

And speaking of features for the leader, his arrangement of "I Surrender, Dear" is angular, exciting and extremely advanced, even for Monk. The album closes on a slightly different note, the ecstatic and exciting "Bemsha Swing", with trumpeter Clark Terry and bassist Paul Chambers joining Rollins and Roach for what turns out to be a stunning performance.

This edition features breathtaking sound-- this remastering process clearly worked wonders, and includes the original liner notes essay.

As far as essential Monk goes, this piece is one of them, even for those who don't particularly care for Monk, this one is well worth the investment. Highly recommended.

On Brilliant Corners, the music was as challenging as anything he had done in the past, but now the public seemed to be ready for what he was doing. Many consider this the album to be a masterpiece, and rightly so. Max Roach's drumming on the title track sounds great--tight, and full of impact. "Pannonica" made its debut on this album, and features Monk on both piano and celeste at the same time. Originally recorded on the spur of the moment to fill space on the album, the tender "I Surrender, Dear" sounds like you're right there in the studio. "Bemsha Swing" is a bit sloppy, but Roach's tympani playing stands out much more than it did on the OJC version. The only problem I noticed here is a click at the beginning of the title track. Aside from that, it sounds fabulous.

The title track is a perfect Monk-style masterpiece... edgy, dynamic, and captivating. It's obviously a difficult song to play, but I'm glad Monk had the patience to do it. "Bolivar" is a stately blues, and "Pannonica" is another catchy blues. "I Surrender" is a Monk solo song, and the 20-bit recording sounds great. "Bemsha Swing" is the liveliest of the group, with Max Roach's tympanis providing the swing. Sonny Rollins plays sax on this, and is of course superb.

This is Monk's best studio album....and my favourite. Max Roach is arguably the best Jazz drummer in history (...Art Blakey?) and with Sonny Rollins on Sax, Monk is surrounded by amazing players. Every tune is great, with a personal favourite being "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are". What else can I say? Monk et al at their best.

It is almost impossible to listen to the title track of this masterpiece without thinking of the cubist paintings of Braque, Picasso, and Duchamp. In the same way these fearless innovators tried to deconstruct painting into primary elements and start from scratch, Monk seems to be breaking the musical language into fragments and pasting it back together. But painters work alone. Monk had to make his revolutionary vision comprehensible to fellow players, accounting for the twelve takes required to get the title composition on tape and the observation by one sound engineer that, "After working with Monk I'll never be afraid of anything ever again."

A jazz milestone, Brilliant Corners is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. The album was given to me as a gift a few years after being released and even after repeated playing I truly had no idea of what the heck I was hearing. What's so strange is that it still sounds "modern" and abstract today, off-kilter, cattywhumpus, and a bit otherworldly. The 20bit re-mastering is glorious and offers a glistening precision my old Riverside LP never had, that much is certain.

Not only has Sonny Rollins never sounded better, he must be given special consideration for walking into Monk's world and making sense of it. Known for angularity and disjointed construction, Monk can also be one of the most emotionally compelling of composers and players. This is abundantly in evidence on Pannonica, an original composition, and on the standard, I Surrender, Dear, which is unrecognizable by the time Monk is through with it. (Solo Monk interpreting standards is three degrees away from heaven, there are many examples scattered throughout his body of work.)

Bemsha Swing returns the tone home to the "expect-the-unexpected" style we met in the introductory bars. Max Roach, who performs the Herculean chore of providing a rhythmic bed for Monk's creations throughout, really shines here, demonstrating that he too is comfortable throwing in accents precisely where you would never expect them and right where they satisfy most. Because this CD is such a lasting jewel in the history of jazz, purchasing this technically superior version is recommended.

The K2 remaster of Brilliant Corners is one of the most dynamic sounding CD's I now own. I am not that big a fan of Monk's but bought this on the AMG 5 star rating and the fact that it was out on K2. Most all of the Fantasy Records K2 editions are fabulous sounding. I own most of them. This has to be the best. The music speaks for itself. I find a lot of Monk's stuff sounds the same. He did after all re-record most of his original compositions he did for Blue Note, countless times for other labels. I would give the content a 4 and the sound a 5. AMG was right.