Track Listing

1. Monk's Mood
2. Evidence
3. Crepuscule with Nellie
4. Nutty
5. Epistrophy
6. Bye-Ya
7. Sweet and Lovely
8. Blue Monk
9. Epistrophy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1492 in Music
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Album Description
Australian pressing. This never-before heard jazz classic documents one of the most historically important working bands in all of Jazz history, a band that was both short-lived and, until now, thought to be frustratingly under-recorded. The concert, which took place at the famed New York hall on November 29, 1957, was preserved on newly-discovered tapes made by Voice of America for a later radio broadcast that were located at the Library of Congress in Washington DC earlier this year. Blue Note. 2005.

Amazon.com
Every year sees a crop of newly found jazz gems, but rarely are listeners treated to anything as special as this 1957 concert recording of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, which was accidentally discovered in an unmarked box by a Library of Congress engineer early in 2005. Until now, fans could only dream of hearing these two immortals play together beyond the three studio tracks they left behind. But here they are, hitting their stride at an all-star benefit concert, basking in the chemistry they had developed in Monk's quartet during the preceding weeks at New York's Five Spot. Coltrane's playing is a revelation. He's both an inspired accompanist and a galvanizing soloist, taking the music to new heights with his bold, brilliantly challenging, and sometimes jaw-dropping phrases, note clusters, and blasts of power. Sharing with Coltrane a newfound sense of freedom following the personal and professional troubles that had plagued them both, Monk is clearly tickled to be in the tenorist's presence, injecting humorous commentaries and otherwise asserting his eccentric genius as a pianist. The material, which was very well recorded by the Voice of America, includes Monk classics like "Epistrophy," "Monk's Moods," and "Evidence," as well as a striking rendition of the standard "Sweet and Lovely." This is music that not only bears repeated listenings, but also demands them--the ultimate definition of a classic. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Fine album; a bit over-rated
This is a good album, and should be included in an any Monk lover's collection. That said, I think it got more hype than it deserves because of how it was discovered. There is a reason Monk and Coltrane didn't do more together: To play well with Monk, you had to be flexible, and an bit, well, nutty. Coltrane at his best is awe inspiring, but he also has a lot of standard riffs. On this album much of his playing is just his standard stuff on top of Monk's wacky chord changes. With the exception of "Monk's Mood", there is not a lot of great interplay. Monk's solos are inspiring, as usual, but not outstanding in the context of his voluminous other recordings.

dropouts-remixing or mastering trouble?
I ordered this CD a week or so ago,
but did not have the time to listen
to it until last night.
I had really looked forward to this historic recording,
as I have heard some of the 'tracks' before.
A great live musical perfomance by renown and legendary
musical genius.
But every track- except one- has a 'dropoff' or 'cutout' of the audio
at the very end. I do not know whether to attribute this to
the actual copy I received, or a sloppy remixing or remastering
process. Even though this is a litho-screened 'factory' CD,
supposedly released by a 'major' label, it has the audio quality
of a bootleg MP3. If you have ordered this CD from the same or even a different vendor, and have experienced the same issues, please leave a comment.... I would rate half or no star if I could.

There are no words to describe this find!!!
I ABSOLUTELY could not believe that this recording actually existed. ANYONE who is a JAZZ fan recognizes the historical, musical and lyrical significance of this recording. I AUTOMATICALLY assumed that there would be something wrong with it when I received it because it was TOO GOOD to be true, but it was PERFECT in ALL respects. COLTRANE was READY!!! I mean, HE WAS READY!!! I have some recordings where he was slightly stumbling behind MONK, however, even his stumbling sounded beautiful. On this recording, he plays marvelously, and so does MONK. There is so much beauty on this CD, that it has been the ONLY CD in my CD player since I purchased it, is an UNDERSTATEMENT. I still have not tired from listening to it over and over again. As a matter-of-fact, I just 2-weeks ago purchased another copy. I could have burned me another copy, but I wanted to have the liner notes also, just in case something happened to my original copy. If YOU love MONK and if YOU love COLTRANE, YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED AT ALL!!!!