Thelonious Monk - The Complete Blue Note Recordings [4-CD BOX SET]

Thelonious Monk did his best work with Blue Note and Riverside (as well as some great music during his brief stay at Prestige). His work at Riverside came when the music industry shifted focus from 78's to Lp's, so naturally one will find such great albums as "Monk's Music," "Brilliant Corners," "Alone In San Francisco," and "Thelonious Himself" on that label. With the Blue Note material, Monk's work was dispensed on 78's, the reigning format of the time. While this means his Blue Note CD's are collections rather than carefully shaped albums, they still have a flow and coherency thanks to Monk's distinct style in playing and composition. All of that music has been compiled here on one glorious box set. Monk made a name for himself as one of the most important composer's in jazz history, alongside Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. However, the bulk of his work, and possibly the best of it, came during his years at Blue Note, and many of them are presented in definitive versions. There's a wealth of alternate takes, but unlike other box sets where such takes are of dubious value, they are invaluable, occasionally surpassing the released master takes. Occasionally, Monk's accompaniment doesn't gel perfectly with the music, but Monk is in top form all the way through, as well as legendary drummer, Art Blakey, who complimented Monk's music better than any other drummer. What makes this set even better is the inclusion of a long lost live performance by Monk's legendary quartet featuring John Coltrane. Despite having played numerous nights at places such as the Five Spot, the quartet rarely recorded, having cut only three sides in the studio (later released as part of a compilation called 'Monk with John Coltane'). However, we are fortunate enough that Coltrane made a recording of one of these nights on a personal tape recorder, and four decades later, they were finally released to the public. Not surprisingly, the sound is low fidelity, having been recorded in the same sort of conditions as your typical bootleg, but the music is so great and historically important that it is virtually essential.


Tracks:
DISC 1 (63:19):
1 Humph
2 Evonce - (alternate take)
3 Evonce
4 Suburban Eyes
5 Suburban Eyes - (alternate take)
6 Thelonious
7 Nice Work If You Can Get It - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
8 Nice Work If You Can Get It
9 Ruby My Dear - (previously unreleased alternate take)
10 Ruby My Dear
11 Well You Needn't
12 Well You Needn't - (previously unreleased alternate take)
13 April In Paris - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
14 April In Paris
15 Off Minor
16 Introspection
17 In Walked Bud
18 Monk's Mood
19 Who Knows
20 Round Midnight
21 Who Knows - (previously unreleased, alternate take)

DISC 2 (52:27):
1 All The Things You Are
2 I Should Care - (alternate take)
3 I Should Care
4 Evidence
5 Misterioso
6 Misterioso - (alternate take)
7 Epistrophy
8 I Mean You
9 Four In One
10 Four In One - (alternate take)
11 Criss Cross
12 Criss Cross - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
13 Eronel
14 Straight No Chaser
15 Ask Me Now - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
16 Ask Me Now
17 Willow Weep for Me

DISC 3 (46:59):
1 Skippy
2 Skippy - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
3 Hornin' In - (previously unreleased, alternate take)
4 Hornin' In
5 Sixteen - (previously unreleased, 1st take)
6 Sixteen - (previously unreleased, 2nd take)
7 Carolina Moon
8 Let's Cool One
9 I'll Follow You - (previously unreleased)
10 Reflections
11 Misterioso

DISC 4 (43:42):
1 Crepuscule With Nellie - (live)
2 Trinkle Tinkle - (live)
3 In Walked Bud - (live)
4 I Mean You - (live)
5 Epistrophy - (live)

- Clique aki parte 1:
- Clique aki parte 2:
- Clique aki parte 3: