Review by Lindsay Planer
The studio and live recording sessions that Thelonious Monk cut during his six-year stay at the Riverside label are compiled over the 15 discs in the Complete Riverside Recordings. This middle era -- between his early sides for Prestige and the final ones for Columbia -- is generally considered Monk's most ingenious and creative period. The sessions are presented in chronological order, accurately charting the progression and diversions of one of the most genuinely enigmatic figures in popular music. The Complete Riverside Recordings explores Monk's genius with a certain degree of real-time analysis that simply listening to each of the individual albums from this era lacks. This is due in part to the 14 additional performances exclusive to this collection. However, a more satisfying level of assessing Monk's indelible marks of extemporaneous perfection can be heard within his prankster-like sense of timing or innate penchant for sophisticated arrangements. Among the sessions captured on this exhaustive set are the Duke Ellington sides and the Sonny Rollins era (which yielded the genre-defining Brilliant Corners), as well as meetings with Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, and Gerry Mulligan. Additionally, the entire Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall performance is presented just as it went down -- with solo and quartet sets intact.Session Dates & Personnel: SESSION 11
June 26, 1957 - New York
This session produced the excellent "Monk's Music" album, generally recognised to be one of Monk's best.
* CD5/1 - Epistrophy. (fragment) - 1'46
* CD5/2 - Epistrophy - 10'45
* CD5/3 - Well, You Needn't. (opening prev. unissued) - 1'25
* CD5/4 - Well, You Needn't - 11.23
* CD5/5 - Ruby, My Dear. (quartet with Coleman Hawkins) - 5'25
* Ray Copeland - trumpet.
* Gigi Gryce - alto.
* Coleman Hawkins - tenor.
* John Coltrane - tenor.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Wilbur Ware - bass.
* Art Blakey - drums.
SESSION 12
July, 1957 - New York
These three tracks, together with some alternate takes from the "Monk's Music" session were first released on Jazzland as "Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane." Coltrane was part of Monk's regular quartet at this time, (a live recording of this short-lived quartet is available on Blue Note.)
* CD5/6 - Ruby, My Dear. (with John Coltrane) - 6'19
* CD5/7 - Nutty - 6'36
* CD5/8 - Trinkle, Tinkle - 6'39
* John Coltrane - tenor.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Wilbur Ware - bass.
* Shadow Wilson - drums.
SESSION 13
August 12, 1957 - New York
The group recorded here was Monk's regular quartet which was appearing at "The Five Spot" but with Gerry Mulligan replacing Coltrane.
* CD5/9 - Straight, No Chaser. (alternate take 1) - 5'27
* CD5/10 - Straight, No Chaser. (original take 3) - 6'58
* CD5/11 - Rhythm-a-ning - 5'19
* CD6/1 - I Mean You. (alternate take 1) - 6'22
* CD6/2 - I Mean You. (alternate take 2) - 6'31
* CD6/3 - I Mean You. (original take 4) - 6'51
* Gerry Mulligan - baritone.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Wilbur Ware - bass.
* Shadow Wilson - drums.
SESSION 14
August 13, 1957 - New York
The original plan was to record a a larger more formal group including several horns, but the initial session with what might have seemed to be an unlikely combination went so well that the album was completed with the original quartet line up.
* CD6/4 - Round Midnight - 8'27
* CD6/5 - Decidedly. (original stereo take 4) - 5'52
* CD6/6 - Decidedly. (original mono take 5) - 6'35
* CD6/7 - Sweet And Lovely - 7'15
* Gerry Mulligan - baritone.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Wilbur Ware - bass.
* Shadow Wilson - drums.
SESSION 15
February 25, 1958
This one track is the result of a largely nonproductive session, originally planned to include Sonny Rollins and Johnny Griffin. After recording the one tune Monk decided that he would not continue with this line up. One of the problems was Wilbur Ware's insistence that the bass part was unplayable.
* CD6/8 - Coming On The Hudson - 6'03
* Donald Byrd - trumpet.
* Johnny Griffin - tenor.
* Pepper Adams - baritone.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Wilbur Ware - bass.
* Philly Joe Jones - drums.
SESSIONS 16 & 17
May 7 & 12, 1958 - New York
This session was made, and released under Clark Terry's name, with Thelonious playing as a 'sideman' on the date.
* CD6/9 - In Orbit - 4'04
* CD6/10 - One Foot In The Gutter - 7'20
* CD7/1 - Trust In Me - 4'31
* CD7/2 - Let's Cool One - 4'55
* CD7/3 - Pea Eye - 4'29
* CD7/4 - Argentia - 6'12
* CD7/5 - Moonlight Fiesta - 2'34
* CD7/6 - Buck's Business - 3'22
* CD7/7 - Flugelin' The Blues - 7'01
* CD7/8 - Very Near Blue - 3'04
* Clark Terry - flugelhorn.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Sam Jones - bass.
* Philly Joe Jones - drums.
SESSION 18a
July 9, 1958 - New York
A live recording by the Thelonious Monk quartet recorded at "The Five Spot" in New York.
* CD7/9 - Evidence. (previously unissued) - 10'15
* CD7/10 - Blues Five Spot - 9'54
* CD7/11 - In Walked Bud / Epistrophy. (theme) - 10'57
* CD8/1 - Unidentified piano solo - 1'54
* CD8/2 - Round Midnight - 6.15
* Johnny Griffin - tenor.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Ahmed Abdul-Malik - bass.
* Roy Haynes - drums.
SESSION 18b
July 9, 1958 - New York
Recorded at "The Five Spot" with Art Blakey 'sitting in' for Roy Haynes.
* CD8/3 - Bye-Ya / Epistrophy. (theme) (prev. unissued) - 11'54
* Johnny Griffin - tenor.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Ahmed Abdul-Malik - bass.
* Art Blakey - drums.
SESSION 19
August 7, 1958 - New York
A live recording from "The Five Spot", this session resulted in two excellent albums, "Misterioso" and "Thelonious in Action". 10910
* CD8/4 - Light Blue - 5'14
* CD8/5 - Coming On The Hudson - 5'23
* CD8/6 - Rhythm-a-ning - 9'28
* CD8/7 - Just A Gigolo. (solo) - 2'08
* CD8/8 - Blue Monk - 8'29
* CD8/9 - Evidence - 8'45
* CD8/10 - Epistrophy. (theme) - 1'07
* Johnny Griffin - tenor.
* Thelonious Monk - piano.
* Ahmed Abdul-Malik - bass.
* Roy Haynes - drums.
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