Track Listings (9) - Disc #1| All Artists: Thelonious Monk Title: Himself Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Ojc Release Date: 7/1/1991 Genres: Jazz, Pop Styles: Modern Postbebop, Bebop Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 025218625425 |
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Search - Thelonious Monk :: Himself
 | Thelonious Monk Himself Genres: Jazz, Pop
Because Thelonious Monk's artistic vision was so personal and peculiar, hearing him in a solo setting is perhaps the best way to begin to understand him. This 1957 album was his first to consist of exclusively solo materia... more » |
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Amazon.com Because Thelonious Monk's artistic vision was so personal and peculiar, hearing him in a solo setting is perhaps the best way to begin to understand him. This 1957 album was his first to consist of exclusively solo material. His lines are fractured, his ideas are deliberate, his mood is introspective, and the end result is an album of both stunning beauty and jarring surprise, often at once. The three originals included are all significant: "Functional" shows how Monk's irregularities translate into a blues format. "'Round Midnight," his most famous composition, is boiled down to its very core (the CD reissue includes a revelatory 22 minutes of "'Round Midnight" outtakes, ideas, and development). The finale "Monk's Mood" is a fragile ballad that eventually adds color from tenor John Coltrane and bassist Wilbur Ware--the only spot on the record with accompaniment. That said, it's equally as fascinating to hear Monk reinvent the five timeless standards in his own image. --Marc Greilsamer Similar CDs
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CD ReviewsAn Essential Jazz Record, An Essential Monk Record MG Nagy | 08/27/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "Thelonious Monk created some of the most powerful music ever, regardless of genre. That power underscores an observation: I've never met a person who had a luke-warm or ho-hum opinion about his music. They either love it or hate it. An artist that elicits that kind of a polarized response makes it hard for the curious. What if the newcomer picks up what is genuinely a bad record? Monk fans are rabid, but few. So if you don't have a Monk fan handy, how do you know what makes a good introduction to his music? Conventional wisdom says to get "Straight, No Chaser" on Columbia. That IS a great place to start, especially with the remastering job Sony did in 1996. They made a perfect record even better. The problem that I have with the conventional wisdom is that "Straight" only tells half the story. If you are new to jazz in general or Monk's music in particular, you should check this disc out. It is not only one of Monk's best, but it offers essential insight to jazz music as a whole. While "Monk's Mood" (with John Coltrane and Wilbur Ware) alone is worth the price of admission, "Functional" and "All Alone" are sadly overlooked. The 22 minutes of Monk working out a solo version of "'Round Midnight," followed by the finished take are vital to understanding how Monk functioned as a composer and arranger. What comes through all the odd chords, phrasing, and tempos is some of the most organic (human) music I've ever heard. To crib from the tray insert (Dom Cerulli, Down Beat): (five stars) Highly recommended." A Journey into Introspection Rick Nye | Minneapolis, MN | 11/25/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "I've owned this album for a number of years, yet I've probably only listened to it about 20 times. The music on this album is so powerful that repeated listenings can diminish the effect of the music, relegating it to mere background music. This is by no means background music. This is music to listen to when your soul needs refreshing. I'm very careful about when I choose to listen to this album. By listening to it only when I need it, the music becomes more beautiful, more serene, more replenishing with each listening. Buy it and listen to it as soon as you can, without distractions. Then put it away. Listen to it only when you need to. And you'll know when that is." A 5-star gem McBurl Ives | Melbourne | 10/19/2008 (5 out of 5 stars) "monk is like the poetry of rilke - it's so dense and compact with ideas that absorbing it takes time and attention. this is a great album but i'd be careful giving it to kids: it might put their sense of time out, ruin them for the regular world forever...and you wouldn't want that"
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