Thelonious Monk... Where to start?

Pretty much anything by Monk is a safe bet for recommendation, with the exception of 'Monk's Blues' and 'Underground' (which is a shame, 'cause it has an amazing cover photo).

I'm not really sure why, but '5 By Monk By 5' and the London Black Lion recordings never realy clicked with me either (though those are loved by enough other people for me to accept that it's just a personal anomaly). I guess I'll just have to live with only loving 98% of Monk's recorded output.

 

Brillianrt Corners
Monk's Dream
With John Coltrane

Evan

 

+1

 

Brilliant Corners
Monk's Music
5x5xMonk
Genius of Modern Music Vols. 1 and 2 (Blue Note)

I still remember a time in a music store (Discount Records on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin), around 1978, when a group of punk music lovers in Mohawks and the entire punk clothing look, were visibly stunned by Genius of Modern Music Vol. 2, which was playing over the sound system. It had been recorded thirty years earlier on acoustic instruments. Monk is powerful.

 

Long ago when I visited the Smithsonian's Piano exhibit (late 90s? Early 2000s?) I picked up a Monk compilation called "Round Midnight" on the label "prism leisure corporation". That was good introduction for me, but I admit I've only picked up a few albums since then.

 

Another vote for Monk's Music. Not a bad track on either side and the best recordings of a number of them (Monk was known to re-do the same song many times throughout his career).

 

The Blue Note stuff then the Riverside albums.



My favourite is actually The Milt Jackson stuff with Monk from 1948, think they work really well together. I think these are currently available as 'Milt Jackson, Wizard of the Vibes'

Don't forget the Prestige sessions with Miles Davis either, Bags' Groove and Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. These are listed as Miles Davis Albums.

 

I actually love the Prestige recordings from the early 1950s, and think that they are some of Monk's best, and most enjoyable, work.

I find the Columbia recordings the most inconsistent, and sometimes a bit dull--to me, it sounds like the group is on auto pilot sometimes on the Columbias. Also, Monk was not composing many new pieces in the Columbia era.

 

what don't you like about "underground"? beautiful album with some new monk compositions. one of the best of the rouse years.

5x monk x5 is another one i'll have to disagree with you about. thad jones is perfect for monk and "jackieing" is one of monk's best pieces. "played twice" is almost as good.

 

gigi gryce did the charts for that record, and he did a fabulous job. probably my favorite orchestrations of monk tunes.

 

I would (as I indeed did with the Yellow and Red cover LPs) start with the Blue Note 'Genius of Modern Music' sets as these are the earliest recordings under his own name.

Oh, and the fact that they are absolutely essential modern jazz recordings...certainly in the top 10-20.

 

hee hee.

 

Me too. The Coltrane set at Carnegie Hall might be a good start too. Brilliant Corners is a little deeper, but that's where you're headed.

 

There's a very obscure mid-1950's record under Gigi Gryce's name that's basically a Monk album. Three of the 4 songs are debuts of Monk songs and Monk plays on it. I'm not sure it's ever come out on CD.

 

There is truth in this. He did, however, keep writing new material, including many of his classics. Starting at some point in the Riverside years, it's a matter of each new album introducing one (maybe two) new pieces and the rest reworking his existing repertoire. I figured out at some point that he introduced an average of four new pieces each year from the mid-1950's on. (I should double check that....) Of course, he often released several albums per year.

I think "Brilliant Corners" has only one reworking among its five piece. "Monk's Music," the next full band studio album under his name, has one new Monk composition. (unless you count the intro piece by the other Monk. ) The new one is "Crepuscule with Nellie."

 

hey, this new article by Robert Christgau is enjoyable.

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/Not-So-Misterioso/ba-p/1888

 

My vote goes to Monk - 'The Complete Solo Recordings' on Columbia DoCD.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=2947

Plus the Black Lion LP 'Something For Your Pleasure' - which is actually called 'Something In Blue' - sorry!


besides the more well known material like Underground .

 

This is true.
But the OP asked about "where to start," so I figured it's usually best to start at the beginning, and in Monk's case the beginning is so great, influential and such a perfect encapsulation of what he was about and why other musicians and fans kept his rep.

As usual, any thread that asks "where to start" ends up with every single item in the artist's catalogue mentioned. That's not very helpful

 

The one that got me at first was Brilliant Corners. When I started listening to jazz the length limit and sound quality of 78-era recordings were a bit off-putting. If the person in question doesn't agree, the Blue Notes are a great starting point.

 

XGau's review of the recent Monk biography. No one has failed to give the book their highest recommendation. I dug it.

 

+1. You can't miss with this one.

 

My vote as well. I think that this is a simple album that will help you get your feet wet.

 

This box of 5 albums for £13 at Amazon.co.uk would be a good start

 

I was hoping for more in the way of real musical analysis, but as an account of the life and the milieu in which it was lived, the book is indispensible. The last sections are as sad, frustrating and bewildering as the last part of Monk's life actually was--I had to say that I felt for the poor biographer as much as I did for Monk himself--and especially those around him. I learned a lot from the book about what it was like to be a jazz musician in NYC in mid-century. You immersed in a lot of detail (maybe too much at times), but in the end you get an overwheming sense of how contingent the emergence and survival of genius can be on things like capricious laws and the instability of the human mind and body. Anyone interested in the history of jazz or in the sheer strangeness of musical genius should read the book.

L.

 

This one is GREAT!! The complete set is also available on 4-LP box set.
The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (Mosaic Records, MRLP-3001, 2009). IMO .. one of the best vinyl release ever!