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58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lyrically speaking, a perfect Ten!, March 13, 2003
In the Fifties, jazz artists like John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk were among a handful of musicians who shaped the future of modern American music for several decades. The fact that they played together and that their sessions at The Five Spot Cafe were recorded is nearly a miracle, since they were under contract to different record labels. They both appear on another record ( Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants- Prestige LP 7150 ), but they don't play together! So this disc is the sole representation of their musical collaboration. Ruby My Dear shows the young 'Trane playing mostly in the upper register of his tenor sax, with much vibrato, punctuating the sentiment in the tune. We can hear instantly the facility with which he deals with Monk's harmonic structure in this poignant ballad. Ironic piano solos are commonplace for Monk, but here he is more straighforward, with a half chorus that veers away from the polysyllabic phrasing of 'Trane's tenor. Monk's comping under Coltrane's restatement of the melody is unobtrusively perfect! On Nutty, Monk's solo echos lines that 'Trane has drawn, showing that the conversation between sax and piano is between equals. The high point of this disc is that Monk and 'Trane clearly speak each other's musical language. Over and over, you can hear the attention they pay to the phrasing of one another, such that they complement rather than compete. Two of the tunes add several other horns, including Coleman Hawkins, who gives forth with a taut chorus on Off Minor. The drummer here is Art Blakey, whose touch is very different from Shadow Wilson, more cymbal oriented, except for the characteristic press rolls that add exclamation points to solos. The disc ends with an unaccompanied piano solo -- Functional -- by Monk. It's very sad that there isn't a cellar in Lower Manhattan with a box of tape from other Five Spot session waiting to be discovered. This is the sort of music I never tire of hearing.
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105 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Excerpts From the Legendary Five Spot Gig, June 27, 2002
For five months in 1957 at the New York Five Spot Cafe, the genius Thelonious Monk Quartet included avante-garde tenor saxophone player John Coltrane. Unfortunately, only three songs on this CD feature the Quartet. Personally, I would have much loved to have heard more. "Ruby My Dear" is a classic Monk tune where Coltrane plays an amazing saxophone on both the melody and on his solo. The genius is Monk's soloing is present in this song, as Monk simply reharmonizes the melody, adding licks with his clumsy style of playing that fits in so perfectly with his melodies. "Trinkle Tinkle" is my favorite performance on this album, featuring a killer melody and rivetting solos from both Coltrane and Monk. But, a standout here is bassist Wilbur Ware's solo. It is a truly amazing bass solo. When monk plays the bridge during the solo, Ware makes that work with his own solo, which is great musicianship. "Off Minor" is not the Quartet playing; it is Monk, Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, and other horn players. This song has a truly great melody with some solos that are great, but not standouts. "Nutty" once again features the Quartet. The melody is one of my favorites by Monk because of its playful nature. It does not sound like a typical Monk piece... I hear more Ellington in the melody than Monk. The soloing is also awesome on this song. "Epistrophy" features the same band as "Off Minor", but this is my favorite version of "Epistrophy" and it features a killer solo from Coltrane. The final track is obviously a filler with its 9 and a half minutes of Monk playing piano solo on one of his songs called "Functional". The melody and the soloing are both impressive on this song, but it's obvious it was just added becasue they didn't have a lot of material to really make an album of just Monk/Coltrane. I recommend this album to all jazz fans. I find it so cool when jazz geniuses play together. Ella and Louis, Ellington and Coltrane, Bird and Diz, just to name a few. This is your chance to experience Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, two people who were not widely known as geniuses in 1957, but would emerge to be some of the most legendary jazzmen ever. There may only be 3 songs where the Thelonious Monk Quartet features Coltrane on tenor sax, but in them is so much creativity and superb musicianship.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's be upfront here- if ya like the jazz, buy the album..., February 8, 2000
Okay, let's get started. This album is one of my very favorite jazz discs that I have laid ears upon. The disc starts out with "Ruby, My Dear," a very mellow ballad, done here wonderfully. The coyness of this track does not hint at what is to come. The Monk standard "Trinkle, Tinkle" reminds a fellow of a lilting jaunt. A lilting jaunt through where, you ask? You decide, but I get the feeling Monk had some sort of chase scene in mind. And Trane pulls off a killer solo as well. I dig it. "Off Minor" has an almost humorous bounce to it, envigorating. Makes me laugh, and no one says a word. The next track, "Nutty" is just that. The tune's expositionary sequence is very carefree in sound, gliding one into a mellow groove. And then along came Trane. Let's just say he adds a frenetic energy to the track with his solo. Hence the title, I suppose. "Epistrophy." My fav Monk tune. And here, he just happens to be jammin' with Coltrane. Wow. I love this one because it is so richly mysterious. Almost haunting. On Trane's solo, the tension created by the space in between his bursts of chords gives this song another dimension of sound, more extreme than Monk's other versions. Closing the disk is a 9 and a half minute piano solo by Monk titled "Functional." Thinly bluesy in nature, this tune is as beautiful and fun as any solo I have heard on piano. I am not sure how many hands Monk really has. But one thing for sure, we got two genius minds on the same disc.
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