CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall

by: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane

Release Date September 27, 2005
Recorded on 11/29/57, featuring Thelonious Monk - piano and compositions, John Coltrane - tenor, Ahmed Abdul-Malik - bass, and Shadow Wilson - trap drums.

The hype surrounding the release of this music had some people seemingly calling it the greatest thing ever even before it had been released. It is great, I don't take anything away from it, but I don't consider it to be so much higher than Monk's Music or Complete Prestige Recordings that it knocks all that stuff down a few notches or makes them nearly irrelevant in comparison, like some people might have you believe.

Shortly after it was released I saw a contestant on Jeopardy say this was his favorite music of all time. That's taking it a bit far, I do believe. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Plays Duke Ellington

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date March 27, 2007
Everyone has an interpretation of Duke Ellington's work, and everyone has an interpretation of Monk's work. So what's a jazz fan to make of one of the legendary pianists of all time taking on one of the greatest jazz composers of all time? Just sit back and let the Monkisms of the Duke roll over your brain and massage it into complete submission. This crystal clear recording features a number of the Duke's biggest hits, with Monk stomping and two-note-interval-ing them into a whole different sound. You won't find many recordings as interesting and as repeat-playable as this one. A choice selection for the jazz enthusiast, this will also round out any popular music collection with familar tunes in different sorts of renderings.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Complete Prestige Recordings

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date August 22, 2000
Anyone curious about Thelonious Monk would be very interested in aquiring this 1952-1954 Prestige box set. For one thing, this is his complete recordings for Prestige already put together and digitally remastered with great new liner notes about the recording sessions for each album. I have never been this happy and pleased with a box set since I bought Bill Evans - "The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961."

Like many of the reviewers have stated already, Monk absolutely rips the keys apart on many of these tunes. It is by far one of the best representations of his piano playing than any other box set. Everything here is simply ear candy.

Here are all the musicans that appear on this box set: Coleman Hawkins, Sonny ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Solo Monk

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date August 19, 2003
This weird Monk's solo outing is absolutely marvelous; entertaining and witty in a way one would expect from a Clark Terry live album, and yet still jagged, surprising, twisted and twisting, messing with harmonies tempos and rhythms in a way only this master could...

The opening song, "Dinah", much more common for the Fats Waller repertoire opens the album for a reason - it gives the listener some guidelines what to expect and how to take it. One of the most intelligent listeners to jazz tradition, Monk here gives brilliant, ironical but not mocking tribute to music (and, particularly, piano styles) of the past, performing few of his great originals as well...

I enjoyed this album immensely. You can buy it with or without bonus tracks; it's still great. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Monk's Dream

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date September 03, 2002
Complex, progressive, and extensivly eloquent!! One of Monk's most
genius (literally) recordings; then again what has he done that isn't genius? A definite highlight in the infinite realms of the Thelonious, not to mention the beautiful art of Jazz music. Five stars is an inadequate response to the supurb quality manifested here. A compliment to any music collection.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Straight, No Chaser

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date August 27, 1996
There is an internet clip of Monk playing "Straight, No Chaser" at a concert. Playing with both hands, that is. At some point, he needs to play the keys to his extreme right. Rather than shift his hands over to his right side to compensate, HE REACHES ACROSS WITH HIS LEFT HAND OVER HIS RIGHT HAND and continues to play without missing a beat! Someone remarked that this is very, very hard to do. I guess it has to do with how the mind works. Try reaching over with your left foot on the gas while driving in rush hour traffic, and you get the point. Remember he is at a concert, where mistakes could be magnified. That is the best analogy I can come with.

Why do I say this? He was so unusual, yet so talented. Monk is pure genius. And you can't teach genius. He, along with Larry Gales, Charlie ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Plays Duke Ellington

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date July 01, 1991
Put Duke Ellington into it anyway, anywhere, anyhow, and you've got a winner! We loved the CD!!

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Thelonious Alone in San Francisco

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date July 01, 1991
These recordings have a richness that any Monk fan will admire: alone, with no backing musicians, Thelonious takes solo flight on his own tunes as well as some well-chosen standards. Consider the beat movement well underway in San Francisco at the time, with an emphasis on individual expression, and the album takes on classic status: as Orrin Keepnews notes, Monk was in "a predominantly lyrical and introspective mood" during these sessions, undercutting the image of the pianist as a distant and difficult artist.

There had been a solo album two years earlier, "Thelonious Himself," more angular and nearly mathematical in approach, but "Alone" is clearly romantic: "Ruby My Dear," a heartbreaking cover of "Everything Happens to Me," Irving Berlin's swooning "Remember," and a gorgeous reading of "Blue Monk" are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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The Essential Thelonious Monk

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date April 01, 2003
this CD is a good overview of the music of Thelonious Monk, so if you are not prepared to go out and buy all of his CD's, just want to get a feel for his masterful piano playing, then you should buy this CD. Great selections, great recordings, you will definitely not be disappointed.

CD-Charts Position 10
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Monk Alone: The Complete Solo Studio Recordings of Thelonious Monk 1962-1968

by: Thelonious Monk

Release Date June 09, 1998
Neither the artist nor the producer considered most of these takes to be good enough to be released. Thelonious Monk always sounds like Thelonious Monk, but releasing alternate takes and make up takes is like buying a piece of paper just because Picasso signed it.

I think artistic control over what gets released should be in the hands of the artists, and remain there.