Artist: Thelonious Monk
Album: Riverside Profiles
Genre: Jazz
Bitrate: VBR Kbits/s
Playtime: 68:04 min
Tracks: 10
Rip Date: Nov-22-2006
Street Date: 000-00-0000
01 Epistrophy 03:10
02 Rhythm-A-Ning 09:34
03 Pannonica 08:54
04 It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) 04:42
05 Blue Monk 03:49
06 Off Minor 07:56
07 Ruby, My Dear 06:23
08 Nutty 05:26
09 Well, You Needn't 11:27
10 'Round Midnight 06:43
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