Genius of Modern Music 2 [Original recording remastered]

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

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 7, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1951
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00005MIZ5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,632 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL MODERN JAZZ; BUT NOT ESSENTIAL PRESENTATION, August 1, 2002

By 

78 RPM (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius of Modern Music 2 (Audio CD)

Since I first heard them, Thelonious Monk's Blue Note recordings have captivated me like no other jazz recordings. They are simply the best work by a genius modern composer. While numerous pictures of Monk exist in which he wears the boppers uniform of beret, horn rim glasses and pin stripe suit ( the photo of monk, roy eldridge and howard mcghee-taken in front of Minton's comes to mind) it's a mistake to think of monk as just another exponent of the Bebop school. He is something much more than that-a unique individual in his music, rendering something much more deeply personal...you will hear that in this stellar music. If you like individuality, uniqueness, playfulness and adventure in your jazz, then this is for you. You won't be disappointed.
My only quibble with this set is that there is simply no reason not to include the July 2, 1948 session either at the beginning of this set or at the end of "Genius of modern music, Volume 1." That brilliant session included such classics as "Evidence," "Misterioso", "Epistrophy" and "I mean You," all of which are essential blue note monk tunes. Why aren't they on either of these volumes? There are no time constraints. There's simply no good reason.
But be that as it may, this is still desert island modern jazz. And you can pick up that missing brilliant session on either "The best of monk on blue note" or the french CD "Thelonious Monk 1947-1948," ; Classics CD 1118. In whatever form you find it, don't miss this superb music.
And, "I mean you."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monk on Blue Note, December 1, 2001

By 

G B (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius of Modern Music 2 (Audio CD)

This is the second installment of Thelonious Monk on Blue Note, recorded 4 years after Genius of Modern Music Volume 1. Though it doesn't feature as many of the pianist's most famous compositions as Volume 1, it has several things going for it. The sidemen are much, much better here -- Monk and vibraphonist Milt Jackson play very well together, while Sahib Shihab and Art Blakey "get" Monk's ideas much better than they did on Volume 1. (Listen to Blakey's rim shots on the intro to "Straight No Chaser" -- awesome!) The second half of the CD features Max Roach and two up-and-coming stars -- alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and underrated trumpeter Kenny Dorham. The compositions aren't Monk's most popular (except for "Straight No Chaser"), but contain quite a few lost classics: "Criss Cross", "Four in One", "Eronel", and "Skippy". There's also a beautiful reading of the standard "Willow Weep for Me". I actually prefer The Thelonious Monk Trio (on Prestige/Fantasy) over this CD, but this is still classic early Monk. And if you like this music, get the RVG remaster of Volume 1 too.

By the way, there's a mistake in the CD case track listing and consequently on this site: track 7 is not "Nice Work if You Can Get It" but rather an alternate take of "Four in One".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as exciting as Volume 1, but worth digging up., October 3, 2005

By 

Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genius of Modern Music 2 (Audio CD)

After his debut recordings as a leader in 1947, it was quite a while until Thelonious Monk returned to the studio as a leader. His next two sessions for Blue Note, in the summer of 1951 and spring of 1952 are collected as "Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2". Although LP technology was available, Blue Note chose to keep Monk in the single format.

The first session, from the summer of '51 finds Monk with perhaps the first frontline that truly "got" his music in alto saxophonist Sahib Shihab and vibist Milt Jackson, with bassist Al McKibbon and drummer Art Blakey anchoring the session. With the exception of a reading of "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (which Monk curiously recorded for Blue Note in 1947 as well), all the pieces are Monk originals, and this level of focus benefits the band, whether it's the midtempo oddball "Criss Cross" (which works nicely with the odd frontline), ecstatic "Straight No Chaser" (which curiously flounders a bit on Shihab's solo), or piano feature "Ask Me Now", where Monk really shows just what he's capable of.

The second session produces far less interesting music, with Monk accompanied by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, reedmen Lou Donaldson (on alto) and Lucky Thompson (on tenor), bassist Nelson Boyd and drummer Max Roach. By and large, it feels as though the horns don't quite get into this as much they should and they seem to get in the way of each other. "Skippy" is fantastic, full of energy and explosiveness, mid-tempo number "Let's Cool One" works reasonably well, but some of the material ("Sixteen", standards "Carolina Moon" and "I'll Follow You") receive straight and largely uninteresting reading. This is most surprising on "I'll Follow You", which sheds the horns entirely and presents Monk in a trio setting.

As part of the Rudy Van Gelder edition of remasters, this album features fantastic sound, given the age of the recording, far superior to the previous issue.

There's enough good music on here to make this one worth digging up, but for interest in early Monk, start with Volume 1.