Blue Note session · in the studio
October 15, 1947
The Thelonious Monk Sextet
- This day's music is on 2 records: Genius of Modern Music Volume 1, Genius of Modern Music Volume 2
In the room
- Thelonious Monk – piano
- Idrees Suliman – trumpet
- Danny Quebec West – alto sax
- Billy Smith – tenor sax
- Eugene Ramey – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
The takes
2 of these 6 takes stayed in the vault at the time: alternates and tunes that weren't issued. Switch to hear only the ones that came out on the records.
What the numbers mean
BN308-2 is a matrix number: Blue Note gave every tune it recorded the next number in one running series (BN308 is "Humph"), and the figure after the dash is which take of that tune was kept. Early on the series starts each tune's takes at 0, so -0 is usually the first try.
tk. 5 is the take as counted through the whole day, from the first tune to the last: the way the studio's log and, from the mid-1950s, Rudy Van Gelder's tapes number them. Later dates have only these.
On the earliest records (1939–40) the numbers in the matrix place, like 486A-1 or GM535-6, are the masters' numbers from the studios and pressing plants Blue Note used before it had its own series.
| Matrix · take | Title | First out on |
|---|---|---|
| BN308-2 | Humph | 78 · 560, BLP 5009, BLP 1510 |
| BN309-1 | Evonce (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR4-101 |
| BN309-4 | Evonce | 78 · 547, BLP 1511 |
| BN310-1 | Suburban Eyes | 78 · 542, BLP 5009, BLP 1511 |
| BN310-2 | Suburban Eyes (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR4-101 |
| BN311-0 | Thelonious | 78 · 542, BLP 5002, BLP 1510 |
Where it ended up
BLP 1510 · 1956Genius of Modern Music Volume 1Thelonious Monk
BLP 1511 · 1956Genius of Modern Music Volume 2Thelonious MonkTogether elsewhere
The other albums at least two of these players are on together.
3 of them 2 albums
| No. | Title | Leader | Year | Who | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BLP 5002 | Genius Of Modern Music · not on the site yet | Thelonious Monk | 1952 | Thelonious Monk, Eugene Ramey, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 5009 | Genius Of Modern Music Vol. 2 · not on the site yet | Thelonious Monk | 1952 | Thelonious Monk, Eugene Ramey, Art Blakey |
2 of them 3 albums
| No. | Title | Leader | Year | Who | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLP 5011 | Wizard Of The Vibes · not on the site yet | Milt Jackson | 1952 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey | |
 | BLP 1509 | Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet | Milt Jackson | 1956 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1558 | Sonny Rollins Volume 2 | Sonny Rollins | 1957 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |