''Monk's Music'' is a jazz album by the

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

Septet, which for this recording included

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

. It was recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 26, 1957, and released in October the same year.

Recording and music

The first song, " Abide With Me"—a hymn by W. H. Monk—is played only by the septet's horn section. The song "

Ruby, My Dear This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

" is performed only by Monk,

Wilbur Ware Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for t ...

, and

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

had joined Monk after playing with the

Miles Davis Quintet The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and ...

, and Monk can be heard enthusiastically calling on him ("Coltrane! Coltrane!") to take the first horn solo on the album in "

Well, You Needn't This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

." All of the songs except one are original compositions by Monk; all of the originals but "Crepuscule with Nellie" had appeared on previous Monk albums and singles in prior performances.

Mono vs. stereo

This was the first Riverside Thelonious Monk album recorded and released in both mono (RLP 12-242) and stereo (RLP 1102). The stereo version was released 9 months after the mono, in August 1958. It has been noted that the mixes of these releases are extremely different. The stereo mix, while featuring the same performances as does the mono version, used an entirely different set of microphones, suspended from the ceiling, while the mono release used microphones in closer proximity to the instruments. As a result, the stereo mix has a more distant sound and Wilbur Ware's bass is much less audible. Producer

Orrin Keepnews Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels. Biography Early life Keepnews ...

explained: In the notes to the 1986 Riverside Monk box, Keepnews wrote: The original stereo LP release did not list "Crepuscule with Nellie" on its label or cover track listing (although it was referenced in the liner notes), and did not include it on the album, though the mono version always included the piece. A circa-1965 stereo re-release with serial number RLP 12-9242 also skipped "Crepuscule with Nellie", even though it was listed on the label and cover. The 1967 "stereo" pressing (RS 3004) distributed by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

was an "electronically reprocessed" version of the mono mix. A 1977 Japanese vinyl version appears to be the first true stereo release that also includes the (mono) "Crepuscule with Nellie".

Reception

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001."Grammy Hall of Fame"
Grammy.org. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

Re-releases

The album was reissued by

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the seri ...

on July 1, 1991.

Track listing

All songs by Thelonious Monk unless otherwise noted. Side A #" Abide with Me" (

Henry Francis Lyte Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 – 20 November 1847) was an Anglican divine, hymnodist, and poet. Biography Youth and education Henry Francis Lyte was the second son of Thomas and Anna Maria (née Oliver) Lyte, whose family came originally fr ...

William Henry Monk William Henry Monk (16 March 1823 – 1 March 1889) was an English organist, church musician and music editor who composed popular hymn tunes, including "Eventide", used for the hymn "Abide with Me", and " All Things Bright and Beautiful". H ...

) – 0:54 #"

" – 11:24 #"

" – 5:26 Side B #"

Off Minor Off Minor were an American post-hardcore band from New York City, United States. They formed in 1999 with Jamie Behar, Matt Smith, and Steven Roche, all former Saetia members. However, Smith later left and was replaced by Steven's brother Kevin ...

" – 5:07 #" Epistrophy" (Monk,

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

) – 10:46 #"

Crepuscule With Nellie This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

" – 4:38 ''(Note: "Crepuscule With Nellie" is missing from most or all true stereo vinyl releases of the album, even when listed, through at least the 1960s (see explanation above). In addition, the track, when listed, is misspelled as "Crepescule With Nellie" on the cover and label of most issues of the album.)'' CD reissue #"Abide With Me" – 0:54 #"Well, You Needn't" – 11:24 #"Ruby, My Dear" – 5:26 #"Off Minor (Take 5)" – 5:07 #"Off Minor (Take 4)" – 5:12 #"Epistrophy" – 10:46 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 6)" – 4:38 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 4 and 5)" – 4:43 Original Jazz Classics Remasters #"Abide With Me" – 0:54 #"Well, You Needn't" – 11:24 #"Ruby, My Dear" – 5:26 #"Off Minor (Take 5)" – 5:07 #"Epistrophy" – 10:46 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 6)" – 4:38 #"Off Minor (Take 4)" – 5:12 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Takes 4 and 5)" – 4:43 #"Blues for Tomorrow" – 13:32

Personnel

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

on tracks 2-6 * Ray Copeland –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing career was relatively short, ...

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

and arrangements on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

– tenor saxophone on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

on tracks 2-6 *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

on tracks 2-6 *

– production * Jack Higgins – recording engineering * Kirk Felton – digital remastering * Paul Weller – cover photography * Paul Bacon – cover design

References

External links

John Coltrane discography

Monk's records
{{Authority control 1957 albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Albums with cover art by Paul Bacon Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Riverside Records albums Thelonious Monk albums