Music on the Web (UK)

Webmaster: Len Mullenger

[ Jazz index ] [Nostalgia index]  [ Classical MusicWeb ] [ Gerard Hoffnung ]

BUY NOW Crotchet

Thelonius MONK (1917 - 1982) Volume 2 - Let’s Cool One original 1950 – 1952 recordings NAXOS 8.120673 [63’11"]

 

My Melancholy Baby (1950) [3.24] with Charlie Parker and his Orchestra
Relaxin’ With Lee (1950) [2’46"] with Charlie Parker and his Orchestra
Four in One (1951) [3’27"] with the Thelonius Monk Quintet
Criss Cross (1951 [2’55] with the Thelonius Monk Quintet
Eronel (1951) [3’01"] with the Thelonius Monk Quintet
Straight No Chaser (1951) [2’54"] with the Thelonius Monk Quintet
Ask Me Now (1951) [3.11] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Willow Weep For Me (1951) [2’57"] with the Thelonius Monk Quartet
Skippy (1952) [2’58"] with the Thelonius Monk Sextet
Hornin’ In (1952) [3.12] with the Thelonius Monk Sextet
Carolina Moon (1952) [3’25"] with the Thelonius Monk Sextet
Let’s Cool One (1952) [3’45"] with the Thelonius Monk Sextet
Little Rootie Tootie (1952) [3.04] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Sweet and Lovely (1952) [3’32"] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Bye-Ya (1952) [2’44"] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Monk’s Dream (1952) [3.04] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Trinkle, Trinkle (1952) [2’46"] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
These Foolish Things (1952) [2’44"] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Reflections (1952) [2.44] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Bemsha Swing (1952) [3’06"] with the Thelonius Monk Trio
Thelonious Monk (piano) with the following personnel: Tracks 1 & 2 – Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet; Charlie Parker, alto sax; Thelonious Monk, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Buddy Rich, drums
Tracks 3-7: Sahib Shibab, alto sax; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Thelonious Monk, piano; Al McKibbon, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Tracks 8: Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Thelonious Monk, piano; Al McKibbon, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Tracks 9-12: Kenny Dorharn, trumpet; Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Lucky Thompson, tenor sax; Thelonious Monk, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Max Roach, drums.
Tracks 13-16: Thelonious Monk, piano; Gary Mapp, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Tracks 17-20: Thelonious Monk, piano; Gary Mapp, bass; Max Roach, drums

More classic recordings in ADD sound from Naxos Jazz Legends, and this time the recordings are all taken from tape recordings so the sound quality is clearer and more immediate than some of the 78-based records which have been issued in the past. Volume One of Thelonius Monk (Naxos 8.120588) issued previously, is a good example of such a disc. For this one he is accompanied by a range of artists, most of whom could justify their own issue in this series.

There is some superb jazz being played here and Monk’s ability to improvise at length is displayed to good effect. This is a real foot-tapping disc, and is recommended as an adjunct to the earlier release.

His fellow artists make this disc of more general interest than it would otherwise have been. For example, there is real interplay between the various guests, notable examples being Milt Jackson on vibraphone, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and Buddy Rich on drums.

Monk had a chequered career, and didn’t get his real recognition as a genius of the keyboard until the late 1950s. These recordings come from before that time, and so the collector can listen to these tracks and hear superb artistry, clearly evident here before Monk became a household word for Jazz fans.

Naxos are to be congratulated for producing such an outstanding disc, in excellent sound for the period, at such a give-away price.

John Phillips

 

Return to Index