Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Humph
2. Evonce [Alternate Take]
3. Evonce
4. Suburban Eyes
5. Suburban Eyes [Alternate Take]
6. Thelonious
7. Nice Work If You Can Get It [Alternate Take]
8. Nice Work If You Can Get It
9. Ruby, My Dear [Alternate Take]
10. Ruby, My Dear
11. Well, You Needn't
12. Well, You Needn't [Alternate Take]
13. April in Paris [Alternate Take]
14. April in Paris
15. Off Minor
16. Introspection
17. In Walked Bud
18. Monk's Mood
19. Who Knows?
20. 'Round Midnight
21. Who Knows? [Alternate Take]

Disc 2:

1. All the Things You Are
2. I Should Care [Alternate Take]
3. I Should Care
4. Evidence
5. Misterioso
6. Misterioso [Alternate Take]
7. Epistrophy
8. I Mean You
9. Four in One
10. Four in One [Alternate Take]
11. Criss-Cross
12. Criss-Cross [Alternate Take]
13. Eronel
14. Straight, No Chaser
15. Ask Me Now [Alternate Take]
16. Ask Me Now
17. Willow Weep for Me

Disc 3:

1. Skippy
2. Skippy [Alternate Take]
3. Hornin' In [306][Alternate Take]
4. Hornin' In
5. Sixteen [First Take]
6. Sixteen [Second Take]
7. Carolina Moon
8. Let's Cool One
9. I'll Follow You
10. Reflections
11. Misterioso

Disc 4:

1. Crepuscule With Nellie
2. Trinkle, Tinkle
3. In Walked Bud
4. I Mean You
5. Epistrophy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39952 in Music
• Released on: 1994-10-18
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
From the 1947 sessions that lead off this set through to the 1958 live recordings at the Five Spot with John Coltrane, this box set chronicles the development of one of the most unique and creative American musicians. The first CD dates entirely from 1947, and on it we hear a Monk conversant in the bebop idiom, his distinct style emerging. By 1951 on the second CD we have a gorgeous version of "Ask Me Now," with all the delightful rhythmic hesitation that became one of his trademarks. "Reflections" on the third CD has Sonny Rollins caressing the melody in an almost languid tempo, followed by a classic version of "Misterioso," with J.J. Johnson and Horace Silver sharing the piano role. The Monk-Coltrane live cuts on the fourth CD are incandescent. All in all, a set that is both enlightening (with a number of alternate takes) in its scope and delightful in its sheer musicianship and creative spark. --Michael Monhart

Customer Reviews

Not just important, but great music
If you care about jazz at all, then you know Monk is one of the greats, the necessary ones, a great American artist. And this is Monk's most important period, when he confounded the world with his sound and vision. His later period on Riverside produced a lot of great playing, but this set documents the revolution, and you must have it.

The music, the tunes speak for themselves, but what is so important here is the freshness. You are hearing the musicians grapple with Monk's work for the first time, some take naturally to it, others don't, but the tension is an important part of the experience. And you are also hearing his work as all listeners did for the first time, right off his first Blue Note LPs.

Yes, the sound quality on the live set with Coltrane is poor, but a complaint about that is meaningless. The gig was recorded on a cheap tape deck with no professional quality or intent, and the set is what it is, a find, never intended as a record. But the music comes through all the same, better to be with it than without it.

A great look into the way Thelonious approached his works
This album has many different takes of various tunes, giving you a good insight into the way that Thelonious Monk approached his work. The spare, rhythmic piano style that was his trademark shines through brightly... I love the various versions of April in Paris. Makes you realize how much people like Harry Connick have been influenced by Monk's brilliant style. If you think you have a "good" sense of rhythm and timing... then.. please try and hum some of the passages in this CD in the same timing as Thelonious... As BB king said.. sometimes it's more a question of knowing when NOT to play.. In Thelonious' case what made him truly special was his tremendous sense of phrasing and timing.

This is an important set,
but the Riversides are more important and in far better sound. Unless you are a completist (as I am), I would say get "Genious of Modern Music, II" only. It contains the best dates from this set. Then spend the rest of the money that you saved on "Brilliant Corners", "Monk's Music", and "Himself" on Riverside. With that, you will have a great collection of classic Monk.