''Monk's Music'' is a jazz album by the

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

Septet, which for this recording included

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

. It was released in November 1957 through

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riversid ...

. The recording was made in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on June 26, 1957.

Recording and music

The first song, "

Abide With Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is m ...

"—a hymn by W. H. Monk—is played only by the septet's horn section. The song "

Ruby, My Dear Ruby, My Dear may refer to: * Ruby, My Dear (composition), a composition by Thelonious Monk * Ruby, My Dear (album), an album by Kenny Drew {{dab ...

" is performed only by Monk,

Wilbur Ware Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for ...

, and

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

had joined Monk after playing with the

Miles Davis Quintet The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and ...

, and Monk can be heard enthusiastically calling on him ("Coltrane! Coltrane!") to take the first horn solo on the album in "

Well, You Needn't This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

." All of the tracks except "Abide With Me" are original compositions by Monk; all of the originals but " Crepuscule with Nellie" had previously appeared on record. This is the only record where Hawkins and Blakey recorded together.

Mono ''vis-à-vis'' stereo

This was the first Riverside Thelonious Monk album recorded and released in both mono (RLP 12-242) and stereo (RLP 1102). The stereo version was released nine months after the mono release, in August 1958. It has been noted that the mixes of these releases are extremely different. The stereo mix, while featuring the same performances as does the mono version, used an entirely different set of microphones, suspended from the ceiling, while the mono release used microphones in closer proximity to the instruments. As a result, the stereo mix has a more distant sound and Wilbur Ware's bass is much less audible. Producer

Orrin Keepnews Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels. Biography Early life Keepnews ...

explained: In the notes to the 1986 Riverside Monk box, Keepnews wrote: "This was one of our very first stereo recordings (although the separate machine failed us on ''Crepuscule''); confusingly, the monaural version has sometimes been used in reissues, but I have managed to include here in stereo form everything that is available in that form." The original stereo LP release did not list "Crepuscule with Nellie" on its label or cover track listing, although it was referenced in the liner notes, and did not include it on the album. A mid-1960s stereo re-release with serial number RLP 12-9242 also skipped "Crepuscule with Nellie", even though it was listed on the label and cover (as "Crepescule with Nellie" ic. The 1967 "stereo" pressing (RS 3004) distributed by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

was an "electronically reprocessed" version of the mono mix. A 1977 Japanese vinyl version appears to be the first true stereo release that also includes the mono recording of "Crepuscule with Nellie".

Reception

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001."Grammy Hall of Fame"
Grammy.org. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

Re-releases

The album was reissued by

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that was founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the ...

on July 1, 1991.

Track listing

All songs by Thelonious Monk unless otherwise noted. Side A #"

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is m ...

" (

Henry Francis Lyte Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 – 20 November 1847) was a Scottish Anglican divine, hymnodist and poet. Biography Youth and education Henry Francis Lyte was the second son of Thomas and Anna Maria (née Oliver) Lyte, whose family came orig ...

William Henry Monk William Henry Monk (16 March 1823 – 1 March 1889) was an English people, English organist, Anglican church musician, and music editor who composed popular hymn tunes, including "Eventide", used for the hymn "Abide with Me", and "All Things ...

) – 0:54 #"

" – 11:24 #"

Ruby, My Dear Ruby, My Dear may refer to: * Ruby, My Dear (composition), a composition by Thelonious Monk * Ruby, My Dear (album), an album by Kenny Drew {{dab ...

" – 5:26 Side B #" Off Minor" – 5:07 #" Epistrophy" (Monk,

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

) – 10:46 #" Crepuscule With Nellie" – 4:38 CD reissue #"Abide With Me" – 0:54 #"Well, You Needn't" – 11:24 #"Ruby, My Dear" – 5:26 #"Off Minor (Take 5)" – 5:07 #"Off Minor (Take 4)" – 5:12 #"Epistrophy" – 10:46 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 6)" – 4:38 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 4 and 5)" – 4:43 Original Jazz Classics Remasters #"Abide With Me" – 0:54 #"Well, You Needn't" – 11:24 #"Ruby, My Dear" – 5:26 #"Off Minor (Take 5)" – 5:07 #"Epistrophy" – 10:46 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Take 6)" – 4:38 #"Off Minor (Take 4)" – 5:12 #"Crepuscule with Nellie (Takes 4 and 5)" – 4:43 #"Blues for Tomorrow" – 13:32

Personnel

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

on tracks 2-6 *

Ray Copeland Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

and arrangements on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

– tenor saxophone on tracks 1, 2, 4-6 *

–

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

on tracks 2-6 *

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

on tracks 2-6 *

– production * Jack Higgins – recording engineering * Kirk Felton – digital remastering * Paul Weller – cover photography * Paul Bacon – cover design

References

External links

John Coltrane discography

Monk's records
{{Authority control 1957 albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Albums with cover art by Paul Bacon Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Riverside Records albums Thelonious Monk albums