Customer Reviews

Monk Alone: The Complete Solo Studio Recordings of Thelonious Monk 1962-1968

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Richard Cook and Brian Morton reviewed this set for their Penguin Guide to Jazz, they wrote: "This is an essential purchase, uncategorizable and resistant to the adjectival attentions of critics." I agree completely.

A lot has been said about this music, and about its value and appeal. I think most critics miss the point. You can't compare this to solo recordings by Bill Evans or Oscar Peterson. There's no point of reference. This is thick, heavy music. It isn't meant to be played for an hour, straight through. It's something else.

Sit down with a pair of headphones, and play two or three tracks. Come back tomorrow, and play a couple more. That's the only way to listen to this music. There's incredible depth and dimension here, and you'll discover new beauty on each pass. This isn't water, and it sure as hell isn't beer. It's Blue Label scotch. It's meant for slow sipping.

Monk was unique. He was a genius, but he was also on a completely different wavelength. I would never disparage albums like the It Club -- but there's no question Monk was at his best when sitting alone at a piano, unfettered by the burden of bandmates. The result was his vision, pure and unfiltered, and music which easily stands beside Bach and Beethoven.

Quick now, do you really think you'll like two hours and twenty minutes of SOLO piano by anybody? If anybody can pull it off, it's Monk. He makes each note distinct, and does not waste any. Quirky yet lovely, most of his time here on this double CD is spent at medium or slow tempo. I thought I liked his accompanied work much better, at first. But as you listen to these songs, they do indeed become endearing. If as some reviewers say, his earlier Riverside box of solo work is even better, it must be really something. I have eight or nine Monk CD's now, and I have enjoyed them all and don't want to weed any from my collection. As a bonus here, "Monk Alone" has an excellent booklet. Read half-a-dozen reviews here, check your music budget, and take the plunge. Although I'm 58, I've only been immersed in Monk and John Coltrane for two years. It's about damn time, and I have enjoyed both artists tremendously. I wish I had been hip enough to have been a fan when I was young and they were still alive. I grew up less than an hour from NYC, where these two played in clubs regularly. When I had dough, I went to Broadway shows instead of jazz clubs. At the time, I thought that was the smarter use of my limited funds, but from the viewpoint of upper middle age, I wish I had been a bit more adventurous. Thank goodness, at least we have the discs, to know what we missed.

This is a big collection of Monk solo material, culled from his Columbia tenure and the albums "Monk's Dream," "Criss Cross," "It's Monk's Time," "Straight, No Chaser" and the rarity, "Always Know." It also contains every song on the "Solo Monk" LP as well as 14 unreleased tracks and rejected takes, many of which will only be of interest to collectors and completists.

Some reviewers have said that this stuff doesn't catch Monk during his peak period, that he doesn't have the spark he possessed during his Riverside period. And I would totally agree with that. But at the same time, I find that the limitations and obstructions he faced deepen this music to a degree. If one wants snap and polish, I think "Alone in San Francisco" is the choice to make (and, to my knowledge though I could be completely wrong, that's the only Riverside album currently available that's composed entirely of solo performances). If one wants an introduction to Monk's music, I'd suggest "Plays Duke Ellington" or one of the Blue Note releases.

But if you want to hear what becomes of a master, and you have the patience to let a big collection of music grow on you, "Monk Alone" is worth the time and effort.

It took me a while to fit into this collection. But I think it's good music to be alone with, it's just you and him. I like to work and write to this music, it's intense but quiet. It's the sound of an artist laboring by himself.

Monk is among the most moving piano players ever to stroke the keys. After listening to these CDs, I find it difficult even to listen to other pianists because they seem patronizing; they simply play too many notes. Monk's brilliance lies in the fact that you cannot listen to him passively. His masterful use of silence and surprise forces you to become entwined in the melody, to enter the song. Two CDs absolutely full of genuine artistry. (If you want an great example, check out "Don't Blame Me" on the first CD).

My first introduction to Monk after the Ken Burns Jazz cd set was the Columbia years box and when I saw that there were songs of just Thelonious Monk playing piano, I was thinking foolishly and kind of blew them off, thinking it would get boring.....BOY...WAS I WRONG!! Yeah, Monk is that good a pianist. My favorite on this is his solo recording of his most beautiful song, 'Round Midnight, from November of 1968, is so hauntingly beautiful. It sounds more raggy than the Miles Davis version and has a beautiful ending. He had a sort of raggy swing to his piano playing and that was one of the reasons this recording is just about as entertaining as it would be if he had the Rouse, or even, dare I say, the Coltrane quartet with him. I wouldn't really advise this one if you are new to Monk or jazz. If you are new to Monk and are on a budget, get Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane or Monk's Dream, but if you are a big Monk fan like me or just a lover of beautiful piano playing, jazz or even classical, get this, and no need to thank me because you will probably be speechless anyway.

It is sad to say, but Monk was not in top form during these sessions--at least not when you listen to his two Riverside solo outings. Much of the same material was covered there, and Monk sounded more at ease and playful. Once again I fault Columbia. As usual, the current box set is overpriced (for material they have sat on for 30 years)and slickly-packaged. It is a valid complaint when one looks at the original album art which often portrayed Monk in clownish get-ups in an attempt to make him look hip to late-60s music buyers. Riverside, on the other hand, always treated the man with respect and the recordings reflect that. Check out the documentry: "Straight, No Chaser" as Monk records a Columbia session. He is frustrated and the producer is condesending. Granted there is valuable music in this collection, but novice buyers should stir clear of his later material. Columbia-Sony is gouging the consumer.

He strikes deeply, full of sauce and elegant on the groove; piano singing strong, sweet and loving with all the sobering clarity of one who blends all tonalities into the broadest harmonies. Forever modern, heedless of trendsetting, he strides tradition freely in hand with all the care and vision of one defying the blandness of blind convention.
Step into the world of master artist Thelonious Monk, and embrace the melody and mystique that was his to command. For those who've gotten a solid taste of The High Priest via Blue Note's acclaimed Carnegie Hall Concert release featuring Monk and John Coltrane, I'll just say that MONK ALONE is the musical epitome of what constitutes a full-course meal!
A complete collection of his Columbia Records studio recordings for solo piano, the 2 CD collection is a stunning portrait of a genius at work. At once relaxing to the soul and a challenging call to the heart and ears, this 1962-1968 journey is a cavalcade of timeless ballads and standards
-many of them Monk's own- which the pianist plays with ringing authority and consummate touch.

One would expect marvelous renditions of "'Round Midnight" and "Ruby My Dear", and Monk delivers; granting us a precious view into the emotional dexterity of a great composer's mind. Equally precious are the performances of lesser-known original gems such as Introspection and "Ask Me Now", and the bravura renditions of standard-bearers such as "I'm Confessin' That I Love You", "Dinah", and the immortal ballad "Body and Soul".
Puckish rumination fires up the stride of "Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", which proves a wry summation of how most Americans view Monk (and most of Jazz, for that matter!), to say nothing of how The High Priest dealt with much of the world, in turn. For sheer heartache and irresistible imploring, try "Everything Happens To Me", and perhaps the times in which we live will become a tad more tangible.
To gain a sterling peek into the master's roots, pull up a chair and just breathe in the humble spirituality of the devoutly-rendered "This Is My Story, This Is My Song", the wistful chestnut breeze whistling through Eubie Blake's "Memories Of You", or the sunny afternoon testimony of "I Love You Sweetheart (Of All My Dreams)".

Always, throughout this priceless, tuneful journey strolls the supple,
steady walk of The Blues, posing
an affirming grasp upon all to be
sung, and all to come...

What makes Thelonious Monk stand apart from bebop is that he had no concept of irony. If he couldn't play a melody honest and straight and still make it sound decent, he wouldn't play it at all.

Unlike other other jazz pianists Monk took absolutely no cues from the Romantic era, attacking the keys without subtlety, taking angular, clumsy detours and generally "thinking out loud". At times it sounded something like a living music box. He was implied to be an ill-equipped eccentric in his day, is called a genius today, but really he was just a talented and idiosyncratic dude whose style you can take or leave.

Of course "'Round Midnight" is the highlight here, still surprisingly "modern" in its emotive intensity. Nothing here is truly weak, but the non-Monk-penned tracks are at best playful and salvaging takes on rather passionless and hackneyed tunes that Thelonious, for whatever reason, really appreciated.

4 stars not due to any flaw in the music or presentation, but simply because two discs of nothing but solo piano ballads (half of which are alternate takes) can be a bit easier to admire than to enjoy sometimes. You might want to start with his more driven and varied accompanied stuff and treat this like a footnote.

Monk Alone is aptly titled as only Monk could re- visit the rhythms and beat of these for the most part conventional tunes in such a way as to recreate them in his unique vision, one that seems both premeditated and spontaneous at the same time. I found myself gawking and wondering aloud, as I listened to Monk's reworkings of such un-Monk like songs as Just A Gigolo and Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea. Jazz cannot get greater than this music.

As you Listen to these arrangements over and over you find them becoming "haunted melodies". They have a very "personal" quality to them that make you think he is playing them just for you.

This vehicle of playing "Monk harmonies" on "standard tunes" is an excellent introduction to people new to Monk's music. Next step is to get into his original compositions.