Artist: Thelonious Monk
Album: Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1
Genre: Bop
Label: Blue Note Records
Released: 2001
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
- Humph (Monk) - 2:55
- Evonce (Sulieman-Quebec) - 3:05
- Suburban Eyes (Quebec) - 3:02
- Thelonious (Monk) - 3:02
- Evonce (alternate take) (Sulieman-Quebec) - 3:04
- Suburban Eyes (alternate take) (Quebec) - 2:59
- Nice Work If You Can Get It (Gershwin-Gershwin) - 3:02
- Ruby My Dear (Monk) - 3:10
- Well You Needn't (Monk) - 3:00
- April in Paris (Duke-Harburg) - 3:22
- Off Minor (Monk) - 3:03
- Introspection (Monk) - 3:13
- Nice Work If You Can Get It (alternate take) (Gershwin-Gershwin) - 3:04
- Ruby My Dear (alternate take) (Monk) - 3:07
- Well You Needn't (alternate take) (Monk) - 2:57
- April in Paris (alternate take) (Duke-Harburg) - 2:43
- In Walked Bud (Monk) - 2:58
- Monk's Mood (Monk) - 3:10
- Who Knows? (Monk) - 2:45
- 'Round Midnight (Monk) - 3:14
- Who Knows? (alternate take) (Monk) - 2:46
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- Personnel:
- Thelonious Monk - piano
- Idrees Sulieman (#1-6), George Taitt (#17-21) - trumpet
- Danny Quebec West (#1-6), Sahib Shihab (#17-21) - alto saxophone
- Billy Smith - tenor saxophone (#1-6)
- Gene Ramey (#1-16), Bob Paige (#17-21) - bass
- Art Blakey - drums
Volume 1 of the two-volume Genius of Modern Music set comprises the first sessions Thelonious Monk recorded as a leader, on October 15 and 24 and November 21 of 1947. It's impossible to overstate the importance of these sessions. They include some of the earliest recordings of Monk compositions that would become standards, despite their angularity and technical difficulty: the strange, sideways chord progression of "Thelonious"; the bouncy and cheerful but melodically cockeyed "Well, You Needn't"; the post-bop Bud Powell tribute "In Walked Bud"; and, of course, "'Round Midnight," which is now one of the most frequently recorded jazz compositions ever. There are kinks to be worked out: Art Blakey's drumming is fine, but he obviously hasn't quite taken the measure of Monk's compositional genius, and on the November session, alto saxophonist Sahib Shihab employs a fat, warbly tone that sounds out of place. But the excitement of discovery permeates every measure, and Monk himself is in top form, his solos jagged and strange, yet utterly beautiful. This first volume of Genius of Modern Music, along with the second, belongs in every jazz collection.
Review by Rick Anderson