Thelonious Monk · I know them well

Deep into Monk

For the listener who has the records. This path runs roughly in order, from a 1950 studio date with Charlie Parker through sideman dates, posthumous odds and ends, the 1961 European concerts and the later Columbia years, ending in 1967 with a Japanese song.

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With Bird and Diz, 1950
The Genius Of Charlie Parker #4 Bird And Diz · Verve MGV-8006 · 1956+
On June 6, 1950, in New York, Norman Granz brought together Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, with Monk on piano, Curley Russell on bass and Buddy Rich on drums. It was the last studio record Parker and Gillespie made together, and one of the few times Monk recorded with Parker. Bird and Diz first came out in 1952 on Clef. Rich was an unusual choice of drummer for a bebop date. It is the earliest Monk on this path, catching him at the centre of the music he helped start.
Start with
- Bloomdido
- An Oscar For Treadwell
- Mohawk
Listen to Monk's comping: he plays fewer chords than most bebop pianists did, and places them oddly. "Bloomdido" and "An Oscar for Treadwell" are Parker's tunes, quick and bright; on "Mohawk", a Parker blues, the pace is easier. Rich came from the swing bands, so listen to how his drumming sits under bebop lines.
In the band
Charlie Parker · alto sax
Charlie Parker, from Kansas City, was the leading voice of bebop, and he and Monk had crossed paths at Minton's in the early 1940s. By 1950 he was a star, recording with strings and leading his own quintet, but heroin was wearing him down. He died in March 1955, aged 34. This date shows how naturally he and Monk fit.
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A ballad on Rollins's record
Moving Out Sonny Rollins · Prestige PRLP 7058 · 1956
Moving Out is a 1956 Sonny Rollins LP, mostly from an August 1954 quintet date with Kenny Dorham and the pianist Elmo Hope. The last track comes from October 25, 1954, at Van Gelder's: a quartet date with Tommy Potter and Art Taylor that was meant to have Hope on piano. Hope was arrested, so Monk stepped in and the two shared billing. That one long ballad ended up here, separated from the rest of the date. It is the rare chance to hear Monk and Rollins together at a slow tempo, for nearly 11 minutes.
Start with
- More Than You Know
"More Than You Know" runs nearly 11 minutes, slow and unhurried. Listen to how Monk plays behind Rollins, leaving gaps and dropping chords in the spaces between phrases, and how Rollins takes his time with the melody. Then listen to Monk's own solo, which keeps the song in view.
In the band
Elmo Hope · piano
Elmo Hope grew up in Harlem, a childhood friend of Bud Powell, and was close to Monk too. He was a fine pianist and composer whose career was held back by drugs and the loss of his own cabaret card. He plays on the rest of this record. In the late 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, then came back to New York, and he died in 1967.
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Ernie Henry's last chorus
Last Chorus Ernie Henry · Riverside RLP 12-266 · 1958
Ernie Henry, the alto player on Brilliant Corners, died in his sleep on December 29, 1957, aged 31. Riverside put together this posthumous LP in 1958 from his last session and from earlier dates. One track is a nearly seven-minute excerpt of "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are" from the October 9, 1956 Brilliant Corners date, with Monk, Sonny Rollins, Oscar Pettiford and Max Roach. It is a small rarity, and a reminder of a player whose own career had just begun.
Start with
- Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are (excerpt)
The title is Monk's pronunciation of "Blue Bolivar Blues", for the Bolivar Hotel, where Pannonica de Koenigswarter lived. In this excerpt, listen for Henry's alto over Monk's chords, with Rollins mostly playing in the ensemble. Compare it with the full version you already know.
In the band
Ernie Henry · alto sax
Ernie Henry, from Brooklyn, played in Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the late 1940s and again in 1956 and 1957. He came back to play with Monk in 1956, and Riverside then made three albums with him as a leader. Scott Yanow, writing for AllMusic, says Henry was just beginning to find his own sound. He died before he could.
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Step 4 of 12
Two pianists on one blues
Sonny Rollins Volume 2 Sonny Rollins · Blue Note BLP 1558 · 1957
On April 14, 1957, Sonny Rollins made his second Blue Note record at Van Gelder's in Hackensack, with J.J. Johnson, Horace Silver, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey. Monk came in to play on his own two tunes. On "Misterioso" both pianists are in the room; on "Reflections" Monk plays with Rollins, Chambers and Blakey. It is a sideman date that tells you how much other players wanted Monk's music, and Monk, on their records.
Start with
- Misterioso
- Reflections
On "Misterioso" Monk plays the theme with the horns and comps behind Rollins, Silver takes over behind Johnson and then solos, and Monk comes back to close it. "Reflections" is a ballad, with Rollins and Monk the only soloists. Robert Levin's original notes thought no two players were better suited to each other.
In the band
Horace Silver · piano
Horace Silver, from Norwalk, Connecticut, was a co-founder of the Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey and by 1957 led his own quintet. His piano style was bluesy and full of riffs, quite unlike Monk's, which makes this meeting interesting. He went on to write "Song for My Father" and many other tunes that bands still play.
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Sideman for Clark Terry
In Orbit Clark Terry With Thelonious Monk · Riverside RLP 12-271 · 1958
In May 1958 Monk played piano on Clark Terry's In Orbit, with Sam Jones on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. It was his only Riverside appearance as a sideman, and Terry's first record on flugelhorn. Most of the tunes are Terry's. The title track was first called "Globetrotter"; the label renamed it after Sputnik. It is a rare chance to hear Monk at work on another musician's record, mostly playing someone else's tunes.
Start with
- In Orbit
- Let's Cool One
- One Foot In The Gutter
"Let's Cool One" is the only Monk tune; listen for how Terry's warm, rounded flugelhorn sits on its odd melody. On "In Orbit" and "One Foot in the Gutter", Terry's tunes, listen to Monk as an accompanist on music that isn't his, and then to his own solos.
In the band
Clark Terry · trumpet
Clark Terry, from St. Louis, was an early mentor to Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. He played in Count Basie's band and then with Duke Ellington through most of the 1950s. He was known for a happy, bright sound and humour. Around 1960 he joined NBC's staff orchestra, later heard on The Tonight Show. He kept playing and teaching into his 90s.
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Paris, April 1961
Monk In France The Thelonious Monk Quartet · Riverside RLP 491 · 1966
In April 1961 Monk toured Europe with his quartet: Charlie Rouse, John Ore and Frankie Dunlop. On April 18 they played the Olympia in Paris, and the concert was recorded. Riverside issued Monk in France only after Monk had moved to Columbia. Here the band stretches out, with three tunes running past 11 minutes, so you hear long solos from Rouse and Monk in front of a European audience.
Start with
- Off Minor
- Well You Needn't
- Hackensack
"Off Minor" and "Well, You Needn't" each run over 11 minutes here, long enough to hear how Rouse builds a solo on Monk's chords and how Monk answers with his own. "Hackensack" is the quick one, with Dunlop and Ore behind the soloists.
In the band
John Ore · bass
John Ore studied cello as a boy in Philadelphia and bass at Juilliard. Before Monk he played with Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Bud Powell. He was Monk's bassist from 1960 to 1963. In a DownBeat blindfold test, Ray Brown praised his clean playing. He later played with Earl Hines and with Sun Ra's Arkestra, and never made a record of his own.
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Milan, three days later
Thelonious Monk In Italy The Thelonious Monk Quartet · Riverside RLP 443 · 1965
Three days after Paris, on April 21, 1961, the quartet played the Teatro Lirico in Milan. Riverside issued this concert as Thelonious Monk in Italy. The programme is different from Paris and the versions shorter, so the two records make a good pair. One tune here, "San Francisco Holiday", had begun life under another name a year before; another, "Jackie-ing", was only two years old.
Start with
- Body And Soul
- Bemsha Swing
- San Francisco Holiday (Worry Later)
"Body and Soul" is short, under five minutes. "Bemsha Swing" is a tune Monk wrote with Denzil Best and kept playing for years. On "San Francisco Holiday" listen to Rouse and Dunlop. Scott Yanow at AllMusic calls this a lesser Monk date but says fans will find moments to enjoy.
In the band
Charlie Rouse · tenor sax
Charlie Rouse joined Monk in 1959 and stayed until 1970, longer than any other horn player. Before that he played in the bands of Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie and briefly Duke Ellington, and co-led Les Jazz Modes with the French horn player Julius Watkins. On tour he plays these tunes night after night without sounding tired of them.
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Newport, with a clarinet
Miles & Monk At Newport Miles Davis Sextet · Columbia CL 2178 · 1964
This 1964 Columbia LP pairs two Newport sets that have nothing to do with each other: Miles Davis's sextet in 1958 on one side, Monk's quartet in July 1963 on the other. The title is misleading; the two never play together. Monk's band then had Charlie Rouse, Butch Warren and Frankie Dunlop, and for this set they were joined by Pee Wee Russell, a clarinettist from the jazz of the 1920s. It is one of the odd meetings of Monk's career.
Start with
- Blue Monk
- Nutty
On "Blue Monk" Russell takes a long solo. The meeting has a mixed reputation: some listeners hear a mismatch, others a strange, fine fit. Listen for how Russell's rough, quirky tone sits on Monk's blues. "Nutty" is the quartet at Newport.
In the band
Pee Wee Russell · clarinet
Pee Wee Russell, born in 1906, played with Bix Beiderbecke and later Eddie Condon, and spent years at Nick's in Greenwich Village. His clarinet sound was rough and odd, full of growls and bent notes, and he was always open to new music. Late in life he took up abstract painting. He died in 1969.
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It's Monk's Time
It's Monk's Time Thelonious Monk · Columbia CL 2184 · 1964
It's Monk's Time was recorded early in 1964 at Columbia, with Teo Macero producing, and released that July. The quartet now had Butch Warren on bass and Ben Riley, new to the band, on drums. There are three Monk tunes and three standards. Around this time Monk was on the cover of Time, and was writing fewer new tunes; David Rickert, at All About Jazz, still calls it the least compromising of his Columbia records.
Start with
- Lulu's Back In Town
- Brakes Sake
On "Lulu's Back in Town", Lindsay Planer at AllMusic praises the mischievous playfulness of Monk's opening. "Brake's Sake" is a Monk tune that runs over 12 minutes, so listen for how Rouse and Monk build their solos at length.
In the band
Butch Warren · bass
Butch Warren, from Washington, D.C., was Blue Note's house bassist in the early 1960s, playing on records with Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean and Herbie Hancock, including "Watermelon Man". Monk hired him in 1963. He left after about a year on the road. He later struggled with mental illness and played only now and then for the rest of his life.
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Monk., with a full stop
Monk. Thelonious Monk · Columbia CL 2291 · 1965
Monk. was recorded in 1964, mostly that October, and released in January 1965. By now Larry Gales was on bass and Ben Riley on drums, with Charlie Rouse. It mixes standards with two Monk tunes, including "Teo", for his producer Teo Macero. The cover photograph of Monk was taken in 1959 by W. Eugene Smith, in whose loft Monk rehearsed. A quieter Columbia record, but the new rhythm section has its own feel.
Start with
- Pannonica
- That Old Man
- April In Paris
"Pannonica" is Monk's tune for Pannonica de Koenigswarter, played here by the quartet. "That Old Man" is the children's song "This Old Man", which Monk turns into a jazz tune. "April in Paris" is a standard he had recorded back in the 1940s for Blue Note. Listen for Riley's light touch on the drums.
In the band
Ben Riley · drums
Ben Riley, born in Savannah, Georgia, grew up in New York. Before Monk he played with Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Randy Weston. He was in Monk's quartet from 1964 to 1967, and later co-founded Sphere, the band that grew out of a tribute to Monk, playing in it from 1982 to the late 1990s. He died in 2017.
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On tour, 1963 to 1965
Misterioso (Recorded On Tour) Monk · Columbia CL 2416 · 1965
Columbia put this live LP together in 1965 from concerts on tour. The tracks come from different years, with two rhythm sections: Butch Warren and Frankie Dunlop on some, Larry Gales and Ben Riley on others, always with Charlie Rouse. It lets you hear how one tune changes as the band changes around it, and how the quartet sounded in concert halls rather than clubs.
Start with
- Misterioso
- Light Blue
- Well, You Needn't
"Misterioso" and "Light Blue" are with Warren and Dunlop. "Well, You Needn't" has Gales and Riley. Compare how the two drummers play behind Rouse. "Misterioso" here runs nearly ten minutes, the slow blues stretched out.
In the band
Frankie Dunlop · drums
Frankie Dunlop, from Buffalo, New York, played drums professionally at 16. He worked with Sonny Stitt, Charles Mingus and Maynard Ferguson before joining Monk from 1960 to 1964. Later he played with Earl Hines and Lionel Hampton, and he retired in 1984 after recording on more than 100 albums.
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A Japanese song, 1967
Straight, No Chaser Monk · Columbia CL 2651 · 1967
Straight, No Chaser was recorded in November 1966 and January 1967 and released in 1967, Monk's sixth studio album for Columbia. The quartet was Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales and Ben Riley. The original LP shortened some performances; a later CD restored them. Its most unusual track is "Japanese Folk Song", which the LP wrongly called a folk song: it is "Kōjō no Tsuki", by the composer Rentarō Taki. It is a late record, and a good place to end.
Start with
- Japanese Folk Song (Koujou No Tsuki)
- Locomotive
- I Didn't Know About You
On "Japanese Folk Song" Monk takes a Japanese melody and plays it as his own. "Locomotive" is a Monk tune first recorded in 1954, back again here. "I Didn't Know About You" is an Ellington song, a reminder of how much Monk loved Ellington.
In the band
Larry Gales · bass
Larry Gales, from New York, studied at the Manhattan School of Music and played with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin before joining Monk in 1964. He stayed until 1969, touring the world. He then moved to Los Angeles, and in 1990 made his first record as a leader, A Message from Monk, mostly Monk tunes.
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Sources

With Bird and Diz, 1950

A ballad on Rollins's record

Ernie Henry's last chorus

Two pianists on one blues

Sideman for Clark Terry

Paris, April 1961

Milan, three days later

Newport, with a clarinet

It's Monk's Time

Monk., with a full stop

On tour, 1963 to 1965

A Japanese song, 1967

That's all 12.