Thelonious Monk - Monk In France (1961)

01.Well, You Needn't 11:31
02.Off Minor 11:42
03.Just A Gigolo 1:43
04.I Mean You 11:02
05.Hackensack 9:46
06.I'm Getting Sentimental Over You See 8:31
07.Body And Soul 2:48
08.Crepuscule With Nellie 2:39.

Thelonious Monk (piano)

Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone)

John Ore (bass)

Frankie Dunlop (drums).

Recorded live at the Olympia, Paris, France on April 18, 1961. Originally released on Riverside (9491). Includes original liner notes by Bob Reisner.

One of his last records for Riverside, this live recording from his European tour (cut in France in 1961) finds Monk and his quartet in fine fettle. The program offers originals interspersed with standards, such as "Body and Soul" and "Just A Gigolo," both of which Monk plays unaccompanied and with notable, quirky brilliance. The live tracks, which include original favorites "Well, You Needn't" and "Crespuscule With Nellie," focus not only on the stringent jump-cut melodies and spiralling lines of Monk, but also on his combo.

Saxophonist Charlie Rouse seems to be in particularly fine form in these recordings, branching out in his solos in "Well, You Needn't" and "Off Minor." Bassist John Ore also contributes a fine syncopated chord-strum solo in "Well, You Needn't." There seems to be a unique tension in the vigorous, uptempo playing from the whole band, which adds a kind of dynamism without distracting from the swing. Overall, MONK IN FRANCE is a strong disc: great performances of outstanding tunes heightened by the energy of a live concert.

Thelonious Monk - 5 By Monk By 5 (1959)

01.Jackie-Ing
02.Straight, No Chaser
03.Played Twice (Take 3)
04.Played Twice (Take 1)
05.Played Twice (Take 2)
06.I Mean You
07.Ask Me Now.

Thelonious Monk - Piano

Thad Jones - Cornet

Sam Jones - bass

Charlie Rouse - Tenor Saxophone

Art Taylor - Drums.

As the '50s drew to a close, so did Thelonious Monk's illustrious tenure on Riverside Records. In fact, the three dates needed for this title would be his penultimate for the label. The concept of the album consists of five Monk originals performed in a quintet setting. Ironically, this was the first time that Monk had recorded with a lineup that so prominently featured the "standard" bop rhythm section incorporating both a trumpet (or, in this case, cornet) and sax player. The quintet featured on Five by Monk by Five includes Monk (piano), Thad Jones (cornet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Rouse would become Monk's permanent tenor saxophonist for the majority of the 1960s. In what had become somewhat of a tradition, the disc's program consists of several of Monk's more established works as well as a few new compositions. One of the new works, "Jackie-ing" (incidentally, named after one of Monk's nieces), leads off the disc. It exemplifies the loose, disjointed, and exceedingly difficult arrangements that would define Monk as a premier composer/arranger/bandleader. This is in contrast to Monk the keyboard player and band member, which he skilfully demonstrates throughout the track as well as the rest of the album. The song's opening jam features a tasty tug of war between Rouse's animated lead and Monk's interjections and piano antics. Jones' cornet is incorporated tastefully throughout Monk's tricky arrangements. The stark contrast in performance timbre between the comparatively subdued Rouse or Monk and the frenetic bleating of Jones is notably disconcerting. The CD reissue includes two alternate takes of "Played Twice," the other Monk composition to be debuted on Five by Monk by Five.~ Lindsay Planer,All Music Guide.

Thelonious Monk - The Unique Thelonious Monk (1956)

1.Lisa
2.Memories Of You
3.Honeysuckle Rose
4.Darn That Dream
5.Tear For Two
6.You Are Too Beautifu
7.Just You Just Me.




Thelonious Monk piano
Oscar Pettiford bass
Art Blakey drums.

Review by Lindsay Planer

The seven-song Unique Thelonious Monk (1956) platter was the pianist's second during his remarkable five-year tenure on Riverside. His debut for the label was the aptly titled Plays Duke Ellington (1955) and once again, on this disc, Monk's song selection did not feature any original compositions. Rather, the well-chosen standards included exemplify and help further establish the pianist and bandleader within the context of familiar melodies at the head of a trio — consisting of Oscar Pettiford (bass) and Art Blakey (drums). Regarding the personnel, while Pettiford had also accompanied Monk on the Ellington sides, Blakey replaces Kenny Clarke. The pairing of Monk and Blakey cannot be overstated. Immediately, evidence of their uncanny instrumental interaction is the rhythmic focal point of "Liza, All the Clouds'll Roll Away" as the two play musical cat-and-mouse. They cajole and wheedle atop Pettiford's undulating undercurrent as it sonically corals their skilled syncopation and otherwise inspired mile-a-minute interjections. This is starkly contrast to the haunting, lyrical piano solo on "Memories of You." Monk infuses the piece with such profound ingenuity and integrity that his re-evaluation and innovative arrangement are singularly and undeniably his own. Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose" reels with a frolicking and ever-so-slightly inebriated gate. It is likewise highlighted by Monk's dreamlike single-note runs up and down the keyboard and the stride piano-style chord progressions that preserves a fluidity within the tune. The advanced score maintains a guise of almost goofy abandon within Monk's highly logical and well-sculpted musical structure. The juxtaposition of "Darn That Dream" is another study in the vacillating moods of The Unique Thelonious Monk. The sophisticated performance is understated, yet remains loose and limber and perfectly in keeping with the album's leitmotif of exploring Monk's skills as an arranger and musician. As if he were testing his audience, the manic and atonal opening to "Tea for Two" — briefly featuring Pettiford on bowed upright bass — rollicks with a youthful visage, rather than being a simple reworking of this well-established classic. This LP concludes with one of Monk's most memorable pieces on the fun and freewheeling "Just You, Just Me." The trio struts and glides as Monk's intricate fingering simultaneously displays his physical dexterity as well as his ability to play so deftly in the moment. Both attributes would resurface ten-fold once Monk began to animate his own compositions on the genre-defining Brilliant Corners (1956).

Thelonious Monk - Monk (1964)

1.Liza
2.April in Paris
3.Children's Song
4.I Love You (Just One Way To Say)
5.Just You, Just Me
6.Pannonica
7.Teo.



Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Larry Gales, Butch Warren (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums).

The Thelonious Monk Quartet of 1964 is well featured on this excellent set. Easily recommended to Monk fans, this set is just further proof that he never made an unworthy recording.