''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist and composer

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

. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm s ...

of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as "Gerry Mapp"), either

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 ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

on drums, and one track with Percy Heath replacing Mapp. It also contains the earliest recorded versions of the jazz standards "Blue Monk" and "Bemsha Swing". Secondary sources have placed the album's release year to either 1954 or 1956. It has been re-released numerous times, occasionally under the title ''Monk's Moods'' and with different track orders. Its track listing expands on the 10" LP issue '' Thelonious'' (1953), augmented with two tracks from his fourth 10" LP, '' Thelonious Monk Plays (with Percy Heath and Art Blakey)'', released in 1954.

Release history

According to

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

writer Alex Robertson, ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' was originally released in 1954 as Monk's first proper studio album. It follows the release of his two ''

Genius of Modern Music ''Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1'' is the name given to at least four different compilation albums by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Each version comprises some of Monk's first recordings as band leader for Blue Note, recorded in 1947 (and som ...

'' compilations—the first volume in 1951 and the second volume in 1952. The record has since been re-released numerous times on different formats, usually with its original title, although occasionally as ''Monk's Moods''. (''Monk's Moods'' was first released in 1960 by Prestige.) According to

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

, the 10-track ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' "has been reissued in more iterations and titles than I can catalogue". On some of its re-releases, Robertson notes ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' had a track listing order different from the original. (See alternative track listing below). The album also features the first recorded performances of "Blue Monk" and "Bemsha Swing". According to music journalist Charles Waring, ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' was first released in 1954 and is a

12-inch vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

revamping of the 1953 10-inch LP '' Thelonious''. Chris May from ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' also placed the release year to 1954. Chris Sheridan, in his book ''Brilliant Corners: A Bio-discography of Thelonious Monk'', dates the album's first 12-inch vinyl release, ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' (Prestige LP 7027), to 1956 and lists it as the first Monk LP in Prestige's 7000 series of 12-inch records, followed that same year by ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'' and '' Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins''.

Critical reception

''Thelonious Monk Trio'' received critical acclaim during the 2000s. Reviewing in '' All Music Guide to Jazz'' (2002),

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

said the album features "brilliant performances" in spite of Monk "suffering from lack of work and a complete lack of recognition from the public" at the time of the recordings. Fellow

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

contributor Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. called its music "intimate, intense, and inspired ... 35 minutes of professional musicians practicing their craft", and wrote that, although they were "pieced together from three different sessions," the recordings' "small settings ... allow the necessary space for Monk's explorations, which conjure up images of a mathematician working out geometric patterns on the keyboard."

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

's Charles de Ledesma remarked that "the various personnel make little difference to the overall effect – Monk throughout offers a sumptuous flow of melody, punctuation, nuance and charm." Reviewing the album's 2007

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelon ...

remaster, Chris May from ''

'' hailed ''Thelonious Monk Trio'' as "immortal, stratospheric music" and "amongst the most eternal" of Monk's releases. "At this period like no other", May said, "Monk's rhythmic attack packed the power of an express train."

's Alex Robertson said that "even when Monk gets nutty, as on the brutally virtuosic 'Trinkle, Tinkle,' the album's appeal lies not in his 'sabotage' of popular music but his ability to turn it into something invigoratingly weird, two approaches often conflated when looking back on the work of an inventive musician." In ''

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...

'', Christgau said the record offers "the not so common chance to hear Monk as a solely featured soloist with a rhythm section", with drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach performing like "co-stars".

Track listing

All compositions by

, except where noted. Side 1 #

"Little Rootie Tootie" - 3:06 #

" Sweet and Lovely" ( Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare,

Harry Tobias Harry Tobias (September 11, 1895 – December 15, 1994) was an American lyricist. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Born in New York City, United States, but raised in Worcester, Massachuset ...

) - 3:33 #

"Bye-Ya" - 2:46 #

"Monk's Dream" - 3:07 #

"Trinkle, Tinkle" - 2:49 #

" These Foolish Things" ( Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) - 2:46 Side 2 #

" Blue Monk" - 7:39 #

" Just a Gigolo" (

Julius Brammer Julius Brammer (9 March 1877 – 18 April 1943) was an Austrian librettist and lyricist. Some of his better-known works were written in conjunction with the composers Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Leo Ascher, Edmund Eysler and Robert Stolz. ...

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

, Leonello Casucci) - 3:00 #

" Bemsha Swing" (

, Denzil Best) - 3:10 #

"Reflections" - 2:48 Notes *Tracks 1-4 recorded on October 15, 1952, and originally released as Side A of the 10" LP '' Thelonious'' (Prestige PrLP 142)"sessionography-1952-1954"
www.monkbook.com. Accessed Oct 17, 2019 *Tracks 5-6 and 9-10 recorded on December 18, 1952, and originally released as Side B of the 10" LP ''Thelonious'' (Prestige PrLP 142) *Tracks 7 & 8 recorded September 22, 1954 and originally released as Side B of the 10" LP '' Thelonious Monk Plays (with Percy Heath and Art Blakey)'' (Prestige PrLP 189)

Alternate sequence

While the song order above has become standard, and is closer to the sequence of the 10" Prestige album '' Thelonious'', the 12" album was sequenced as follows in all of its 1950's and 1960's releases, including the original PRLP 7027, as well as its retitlings ''Monk's Moods'' (PRLP 7159, 1960) and ''The High Priest'' (PR 7508, 1968). Beginning in the 1970's, some releases switched sides, and over time the sequence beginning with "Little Rootie Tootie" became more common. "www.allmusic.com"
Accessed Oct 19, 2019 Side 1 #

" Blue Monk" - 7:39 #

" Just a Gigolo" (

, Leonello Casucci) - 3:00 #

" Bemsha Swing" (

, Denzil Best) - 3:10 #

"Reflections" - 2:48 Side 2 #

"Little Rootie Tootie" - 3:06 #

" Sweet and Lovely" ( Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare,

) - 3:33 #

"Bye-Ya" - 2:46 #

"Monk's Dream" - 3:07 #

"Trinkle, Tinkle" - 2:49 #

" These Foolish Things" ( Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) - 2:46

Personnel

(Track listings here refer to the version beginning with "Little Rootie Tootie.") *

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

*Gary Mapp - bass (tracks 1-6, 9-10) *

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(tracks 1-4, 7) *

- drums (tracks 5-6, 9 & 10) * Percy Heath -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(track 7) *Track 8 is a solo piano performance by Monk. *an uncredited person plays a shaker (in son clave rhythm) on "Bye-Ya"

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Thelonious Monk albums 1954 albums Prestige Records albums