''Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist

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 ...

Allmusic entry for ''Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk'' AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

/ref> It was originally issued on the Riverside label as RLP 12-323 (mono)/1171 (stereo) and Original Jazz Classics OJCCD 305–2 in 1987.

Origins of the album

Riverside Records had originally planned for the album to be co-led by drummer

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...

. Manne's career was at a high point in 1960, and his quintet released four albums recorded live at the Blackhawk that year. (A fifth album from the recording sessions, which took place in 1959, was released in 1991.) Three tracks of Monk's group with Manne playing drums were recorded at the Blackhawk with Manne on April 28, 1960. These tracks remained unissued until the release of Thelonious Monk: The Complete Riverside Recordings in 1986. The tracks recorded with Manne were "'Round Midnight", "Just You, Just Me" and "San Francisco Holiday" (a.k.a. "Worry Later"). Contrary to some published accounts, these tracks do include guest musicians Joe Gordon and Harold Land alongside Monk's regular band members Charlie Rouse and John Ore. 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 w ...

felt that the group with Manne playing drums was not musically successful, and Manne agreed and withdraw from the project. Keepnews then called in

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

as a last-minute replacement for Manne. Higgins, who was based in Los Angeles during this period, had recently garnered national recognition as a member of the

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

quartet in 1959 and 1960.

Track listing

''All pieces by Thelonious Monk unless otherwise noted.''

Original LP

Side One # Let's Call This - 8:32 # Four in One - 8:37 #

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" is a song recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. The words were written by Ned Washington and the music was written by George Bassman. It was first performed in 1932. The original copyright is dated 1933 a ...

" (

George Bassman George Bassman (February 7, 1914 – June 26, 1997) was an American composer and arranger. Biography Born in New York City to a Ukrainian- and Lithuanian-Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the ...

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

) - 6:07 Side Two # Worry Later - 9:09 # 'Round Midnight" (Monk,

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

Bernie Hanighen Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska – October 19, 1976 in New York City, New York) Attended Hackley School (Tarrytown, New York) - Class of 1926, also attended Harvard University - Class of 1930. He was an American songwrit ...

) - 12:06 # Epistrophy (Closing Theme) - 2:00

CD Re-issue

#"Let's Call This" – 8:33 #"Four in One" – 8:41 #"

" (

) – 6:14 #" 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 ...

) – 6:41 #"Evidence" – 7:09 #"San Francisco Holiday (Worry Later)" – 9:10 #" 'Round Midnight" (Monk,

) – 12:07 #"Epistrophy" – 0:59

Personnel

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character ''Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yank ...

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 ...

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffor ...

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 ...

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Wash ...

- tenor saxophone *

–

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 ...

John Ore John Ore (December 17, 1933 – August 22, 2014) was an American jazz bassist. Ore attended the New School of Music in Philadelphia from 1943 to 1946, studying cello and followed this with studies on bass at Juilliard. In the 1950s he worked wit ...

- bass *

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 ...

Production

Reice Hamel Reice Hamel (June 18, 1920 – October 1, 1986) was an American Audio Recording engineer. He is considered, along with his colleague Wally Heider, to be the pioneer of complex live remote recording. He recorded under the company name, Reice Hamel ...

Recording Engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thelonious Monk At The Blackhawk 1960 live albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Thelonious Monk live albums Riverside Records live albums Albums recorded at the Black Hawk (nightclub)