Blue Note session · in the studio
July 23, 1951
The Thelonious Monk Quintet
- This day's music is on 2 records: Genius of Modern Music Volume 2, Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet
In the room
- Thelonious Monk – piano
- Sahib Shihab – alto sax
- Milt Jackson – vibes
- Al McKibbon – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
The takes
2 of these 9 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BN392-1 | Four In One | 78 · 1589, BLP 5009, BLP 1511 |
| BN392-2 | Four In One (alternate take) | BLP 1509 |
| BN393-0 | Criss-Cross | 78 · 1590, BLP 5011, BLP 1509 |
| BN393-1 | Criss-Cross (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR4-101 |
| BN394-0 | Eronel | 78 · 1590, BLP 5011, BLP 1509 |
| BN395-0 | Straight No Chaser | 78 · 1589, BLP 5009, BLP 1511 |
| BN396-0 | Ask Me Now (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR4-101 |
| BN396-1 | Ask Me Now | 78 · 1591, BLP 1511 |
| BN397-0 | Willow Weep For Me | 78 · 1591, 45 · 45-1646, BLP 5011, BLP 1509 |
Where it ended up
BLP 1511 · 1956Genius of Modern Music Volume 2Thelonious Monk
BLP 1509 · 1956Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk QuintetMilt JacksonTogether elsewhere
The other albums at least two of these players are on together.
2 of them 7 albums
| No. | Title | Leader | Year | Who | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BLP 5002 | Genius Of Modern Music · not on the site yet | Thelonious Monk | 1952 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 5009 | Genius Of Modern Music Vol. 2 · not on the site yet | Thelonious Monk | 1952 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 5068 | The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 · not on the site yet | Herbie Nichols Trio | 1955 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 5069 | The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2 · not on the site yet | Herbie Nichols Trio | 1955 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1510 | Genius of Modern Music Volume 1 | Thelonious Monk | 1956 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1544 | Hank Mobley and His All Stars | Hank Mobley | 1957 | Milt Jackson, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1558 | Sonny Rollins Volume 2 | Sonny Rollins | 1957 | Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey |