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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat obscure recordings to savor., February 23, 1999
By A Customer
This set represents half of Thelonious' Prestige recordings, which took place in the early Fifties, the other half is with Sonny Rollins. Monk was in a diffucult time personally, for he was operating in almost total obscurity and lack of recognition. Obviously, this affected the fequency of his recordings, in fact, from '47-'55 his Blue Note and Prestige recordings only amount to about four or five Cds. All that changed in'55 when he signed to Riverside, of course, but what is remarkable is that Monk was playing basically the same in '52 and '54 as he would when he was producing more famous work for Riverside. Included are the first recordings of Blue Monk, Bemsha Swing and Little Rootie Tootie. Fans of his solo Columbia recordings will be interested to know that Just A Gigolo is also performed here solo as well. All the recordings are either solo or in trio format, with such names as Max Roach, Art Blakey and Percy Heath. Although short, (each song is usually 2-3 minutes) and always overlooked, these recordings are some of his best and will be considered essential for the true Monk fan.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST PURE MONK..., September 15, 2005
The recordings on this disc represent probably the best pure Monk around: they present the original, quintessential "Monk sound."
Monk's solo recordings on Columbia are great, but they are a little different. How so? Well, without a timing duo of drums & bass, Monk was prone towards a slow tempo--which is great: some of his solo tracks are almost hypnotic.
Yet, with the greatest jazz drummer of all time--Art Blakey--giving Monk a steady beat--whether fast or slow--Monk is able to achieve even better boppin' jazz.
On some of the tracks Monk is acconpanied by one of the second best drummers in jazz--Max Roach (tied with the original Jo Jones!).
So, overall, these tracks show Monk at his best: virtually solo piano, except with a driving timing section which helps the soloist.
The remastered sound is insanely crisp and clear! Only complaint is that the playing time is short: not more than :40mins. But it's worth the price when an aficianado absolutely has to have the best!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To me, the most satisfying Monk recording, December 8, 2002
Thelonious Monk has a unique and commanding position among jazz pianists because of the total originality of his musical vision and his ability to express it fully, however unorthodox his music is. Indeed, his individulality is one of his chief assets. But what he did was not just 'novel': it was searching, profound, and articulated deep emotion. His music is the opposite of superficiality, yet never depressing, however strongly his thinking and feeling are rooted in the blues. This recording to my mind shows him to greater advantage than any other in that it is not 'solo', when I feel he should be accompanied by a drummer and bassist (as he is here), nor with one or more horns, where all too readily what Monk does is not really compatible with the music of the other prominent musicians, however good they are. As well, the tunes played for this recording are either important Monk originals or others that he used to great advantage, and although the tracks are short his creativity is in full flight all the time. Unhesitatingly recommended as containing some of the greatest post-war jazz. This should be in every collection, and is ALWAYS great to listen to. - Joost Daalder
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