Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music Thelonious Monk

Limited edition 180g vinyl audiophile pressing + bonus track 'Ruby, My Dear'

Monk's Music by the Thelonious Monk Septet included the grandfather of the modern saxophone Coleman Hawkins alongside the then 31-year-old John Coltrane. Released in November 1957 on Riverside Records, the programme is made up of Thelonious Monk's own composition, apart from the opening track 'Abide with Me', a hymn by the 19th Century English church organist William Henry Monk and played here only by the horn section. The album also represents the only recording to feature Coleman Hawkins and Art Blakey together.

"Throughout, Monk is the dominant force. The music, whether blown by the horns or rapped out by his hands, is as much a part of him as his thoughts. It is a highly personal music, now brittle and seemingly spastic; now firm and outspoken. But always it is unified in conception and in overall sound. It is a tribute to Monk that within this intensely personal music, a soloist like Coltrane can develop a singularly personal style of his own, while fitting into the frame of Monk's reference. This is one to play again and again with no diminution of pleasure, or of discovery." - ***** Dom Cerulli, DownBeat