Thelonious Monk - The Jazz Biography
ARTIST.....: Thelonious Monk
TITLE......: The Jazz Biography
LABEL......: United Audio Entertainment
URL........: http://www.monkzone.com
RIP DATE...: Feb-10-2006
STORE DATE.: Feb-07-2006
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 66,4 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Epistrophy 03:10
02 - Ask Me Now 03:05
03 - In Walked Bud 03:14
04 - Evidence 03:14
05 - Mysterioso 02:56
06 - Round Midnight 02:33
07 - Bemesha Swing 02:59
08 - Let's Cool Me 03:05
09 - Monk's Dream 03:05
10 - Criss-cross 02:44
11 - Hornin' In 02:54
12 - Little Rootie Tootie 03:09
13 - Off Minor 03:47
14 - Straight No Chaser 02:58
15 - Well, You Needn't 03:05
16 - Thelonious 02:59
17 - Ruby My Dear 02:56
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51:53 min
Release Notes:
The most important jazz musicians are the ones who are successful
in creating their own original world of music with its own rules,
logic, and surprises. Thelonious Monk, who was criticized by
observers who failed to listen to his music on its own terms,
suffered through a decade of neglect before he was suddenly
acclaimed as a genius; his music had not changed one bit in the
interim. In fact, one of the more remarkable aspects of Monk's
music was that it was fully formed by 1947 and he saw no need to
alter his playing or compositional style in the slightest during
the next 25 years.
Thelonious Monk grew up in New York, started playing piano when he
was around five, and had his first job touring as an accompanist
to an evangelist. He was inspired by the Harlem stride pianists
(James P. Johnson was a neighbor) and vestiges of that idiom can
be heard in his later unaccompanied solos. However, when he was
playing in the house band of Minton's Playhouse during 1940-1943,
Monk was searching for his own individual style. Private
recordings from the period find him sometimes resembling Teddy
Wilson but starting to use more advanced rhythms and harmonies. He
worked with Lucky Millinder a bit in 1942 and was with the Cootie
Williams Orchestra briefly in 1944 (Williams recorded Monk's
"Epistrophy" in 1942 and in 1944 was the first to record "'Round
Midnight"), but it was when he became Coleman Hawkins' regular
pianist that Monk was initially noticed. He cut a few titles with
Hawkins (his recording debut) and, although some of Hawkins' fans
complained about the eccentric pianist, the veteran tenor could
sense the pianist's greatness.
The 1945-1954 period was very difficult for Thelonious Monk.
Because he left a lot of space in his rhythmic solos and had an
unusual technique, many people thought that he was an inferior
pianist. His compositions were so advanced that the lazier bebop
players (although not Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker) assumed
that he was crazy. And Thelonious Monk's name, appearance (he
liked funny hats), and personality (an occasionally
uncommunicative introvert) helped to brand him as some kind of
nut. Fortunately, Alfred Lion of Blue Note believed in him and
recorded Monk extensively during 1947-1948 and 1951-1952. He also
recorded for Prestige during 1952-1954, had a solo set for Vogue
in 1954 during a visit to Paris, and appeared on a Verve date with
Bird and Diz. But work was very sporadic during this era and Monk
had to struggle to make ends meet.
His fortunes slowly began to improve. In 1955, he signed with
Riverside and producer Orrin Keepnews persuaded him to record an
album of Duke Ellington tunes and one of standards so his music
would appear to be more accessible to the average jazz fan. In
1956 came the classic Brilliant Corners album, but it was the
following year when the situation permanently changed. Monk was
booked into the Five Spot for a long engagement and he used a
quartet that featured tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Finally,
the critics and then the jazz public recognized Thelonious Monk's
greatness during this important gig. The fact that he was unique
was a disadvantage a few years earlier when all modern jazz
pianists were expected to sound like Bud Powell (who was
ironically a close friend), but by 1957 the jazz public was
looking for a new approach. Suddenly, Monk was a celebrity and his
status would not change for the remainder of his career. In 1958,
his quartet featured the tenor of Johnny Griffin (who was even
more compatible than Coltrane), in 1959 he appeared with an
orchestra at Town Hall (with arrangements by Hall Overton), in
1962 he signed with Columbia and two years later was on the cover
of Time. A second orchestra concert in 1963 was even better than
the first and Monk toured constantly throughout the 1960s with his
quartet which featured the reliable tenor of Charlie Rouse. He
played with the Giants of Jazz during 1971-1972, but then in 1973
suddenly retired. Monk was suffering from mental illness and,
other than a few special appearances during the mid-'70s, he lived
the rest of his life in seclusion. After his death it seemed as if
everyone was doing Thelonious Monk tributes. There were so many
versions of "'Round Midnight" that it was practically a pop hit!
But despite the posthumous acclaim and attempts by pianists
ranging from Marcus Roberts to Tommy Flanagan to recreate his
style, there was no replacement for the original.
Some of Thelonious Monk's songs became standards early on, most
notably "'Round Midnight," "Straight No Chaser," "52nd Street
Theme," and "Blue Monk." Many of his other compositions have by
now been figured out by other jazz musicians and are occasionally
performed including "Ruby My Dear," "Well You Needn't," "Off
Minor," "In Walked Bud," "Misterioso," "Epistrophy," "I Mean You,"
"Four in One," "Criss Cross," "Ask Me Now," "Little Rootie
Tootie," "Monk's Dream," "Bemsha Swing," "Think of One," "Friday
the 13th," "Hackensack," "Nutty," "Brilliant Corners," "Crepuscule
With Nellie" (written for his strong and supportive wife),
"Evidence," and "Rhythm-a-Ning," Virtually all of Monk's
recordings (for Blue Note, Prestige, Vogue, Riverside, Columbia,
and Black Lion) have been reissued and among his sidemen through
the years were Idrees Sulieman, Art Blakey, Milt Jackson, Lou
Donaldson, Lucky Thompson, Max Roach, Julius Watkins, Sonny
Rollins, Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan, John Coltrane, Wilbur Ware,
Shadow Wilson, Johnny Griffin, Donald Byrd, Phil Woods, Thad
Jones, and Charlie Rouse. His son Thelonious Monk, Jr. (T.S. Monk)
has helped keep the hard bop tradition alive with his quintet and
has headed the Thelonious Monk Institute, whose yearly
competitions succeed in publicizing talented young players.