Big Band and Quartet in Concert

Read About This Recording

One of the most original pianists and composers in jazz history, Thelonious Monk had to wait for the rest of the world to catch up to him. He gained early experience being in the house band at Minton's Playhouse in the early 1940s, developing his unique style while playing nightly after-hours jam sessions. While the music that resulted from the sessions developed into bebop, Monk came up with a percussive style influenced by Duke Ellington that was completely apart from bop. By 1947 when he made his first recordings as a leader for Blue Note, he was writing complex songs that had their own logic. His piano playing was sparse and rhythmic in an eccentric way while hinting at earlier stride pianists.

Although jazz is a music that prizes individuality, Thelonious Monk was considered too advanced even by the bop generation and he rarely worked in the early 1950s. His situation changed permanently in 1957 when a summertime engagement at the Five Spot with John Coltrane in his quartet was too exciting to ignore. Monk was discovered and became such a major name, that in early 1964 he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. The ironic part is that his music of the mid-1960s was no different than his forbidding sounds of the mid-1940s.

On December 30, 1963 when he was at the height of his fame, Thelonious Monk played a Philharmonic Hall concert with his quartet and a small big band. This double-CD, which expands upon the original LP, features Monk at the peak of his powers. He takes Darkness On The Delta as an unaccompanied soloist, his regular quartet with tenor-saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Butch Warren and drummer Frank Dunlop are showcased on a couple numbers, and the rest of the long program features a 10-piece group comprised of the quartet, cornetist Thad Jones, trumpeter Nick Travis, Steve Lacy on soprano, altoist Phil Woods, trombonist Eddie Bert and baritonist Gene Allen. Although Travis, Lacy, Bert and Allen do not get to solo (they are major parts of the ensembles), Jones and Woods have plenty of solo space.

Among the highlights are I Mean You, Evidence, Oska T., and especially Four In One. The latter includes a transcribed Monk piano solo arranged for the full ensemble (it sounds remarkable) and one of Thelonious' most catchy improvisations.

This is one of the great Thelonious Monk sets, and serves as a perfect introduction to listeners not familiar with the unique Monk's music.

-Scott Yanow

Extended Article

Thelonius Monk's December 30, 1963, Philharmonic Hall concert occurred amidst great expectations, and did not disappoint. Only his second big band venture, it drew great critical acclaim. For the original release in 1964, the concert was shortened to fit the LP format. In this digitally mastered version, the concert has been restored to its entirety for the first time.

Contents

Bye-ya*; I Mean You; Evidence; Epistrophy; (When It's) Darkness on the Delta; Played Twice; Misterioso*; Epistrophy; Light Blue*; Oska T.; Four in One; Epistrophy.

(*Previously unreleased.)

Thelonious Monk, Piano; Thad Jones, Cornet; Nick Travis, Trumpet; Charlie Rouse, Tenor Sax; Steve Lacy, Soprano Sax; Phil Woods, Clarinet, Alto Sax; Gene Allen, Baritone Sax, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet; Eddie Bert, Trombone; Butch Warren, Bass; Frankie Dunlop, Drums.