Monk and Coltrane Top the List

I've been noticing lately that this recording with Monk and Coltrane has been inching upwards in both the iTunes lists and is now tops on the jazz CD store  lists as well.  Looks like it was just released and is getting rave reviews.   I wonder if Coltrane would have ever thought that he would still be releasing recordings 40 years after his death!  This recording probably got more attention now than when he released something in his lifetime.  Funny how that is with jazz...sometimes you are much more popular dead than alive.  Here are the details.

 

More information..

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane Rating: List Price: $18.98 Sale Price: $13.49 You save: $5.49 (29%) Market Place $12.47 Buy Used From $14.15  by Blue Note Records Release Date:   27 September, 2005 Sales rank:   4 Catalog:   Music Media: Audio CD ASIN:   B000AV2GCE UPC:   094633517325 Store:   Amazon.com Usually ships in 24 hours

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Songs List of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane

Monk`s Mood Evidence Crepescule With Nellie Nutty Epistrophy (Live) Bye-Ya Sweet And Lovely Blue Monk Epistrophy

Features of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane

Live

Product Description of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane

Every year sees a crop of newly found jazz gems, but rarely are listeners treated to anything as special as this 1957 concert recording of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, which was accidentally discovered in an unmarked box by a Library of Congress engineer early in 2005. Until now, fans could only dream of hearing these two immortals play together beyond the three studio tracks they left behind. But here they are, hitting their stride at an all-star benefit concert, basking in the chemistry they had developed in Monk`s quartet during the preceding weeks at New York`s Five Spot. Coltrane`s playing is a revelation. He`s both an inspired accompanist and a galvanizing soloist, taking the music to new heights with his bold, brilliantly challenging, and sometimes jaw-dropping phrases, note clusters, and blasts of power. Sharing with Coltrane a newfound sense of freedom following the personal and professional troubles that had plagued them both, Monk is clearly tickled to be in the tenorist`s presence, injecting humorous commentaries and otherwise asserting his eccentric genius as a pianist. The material, which was very well recorded by the Voice of America, includes Monk classics like "Epistrophy," "Monk`s Moods," and "Evidence," as well as a striking rendition of the standard "Sweet and Lovely." This is music that not only bears repeated listenings, but also demands them--the ultimate definition of a classic. --Lloyd Sachs

Reviews for Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane

New wonderful stuff This is not your typical dig out some old stuff and release it-this a new born classic. Simply said Coltrane and Monk shine as bright as ever. The quality of sound and substance is overwhelming and as I listened for the first time I am so glad we all have this remarkable cd to listen to. Believe The Hype There has been alot of hype in the jazz community about the release of this previously undiscovered live recording of Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane and the album justifies everything. The previously released recordings by the duo find Mr. Coltrane tentative still trying to grasp Mr. Monk`s compositions and recovering from heroin and alcohol addiction. This album shows that after about five months together, they hit their stride. The opening track, "Monk`s Mood" is a perfect piano/saxophone duet as the two musicians casually bounce off of one another. Mr. Coltrane shows he has mastered Mr. Monk`s stylings with a masterful solo on "Crepuscule With Nellie". "Sweet & Lovely" slams along a double time while "Blue Monk" has a slow bluesy build towards a fiery crescendo. While Mr. Coltrane & Mr. Monk are the stars, the rhythm section of Shadow Wilson on drums and Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass provide a smooth and solid groove that allows them to shine. Not only is this album a major find for historical purposes, it great production makes it a must listen as well. INCREDIBLE AND ESSENTIAL PERFORMANCES: MONK & `TRANE Five Stars? SIX, for sure. New York City hall had given up on Monk! Miles had given up on Coltrane! When Monk`s legalities and Coltrane`s health allowed, Monk was the first to reach out to Coltrane for his first NYC gigs. A meeting of KINDRED SOULS in need of relaunching their careers and, in the process, REVITALIZING Monk`s music. The historic results of their meetings are documented on other CD`s as well, but this rare jewel of a recording managed to slip by everyone for decades, hidden away on Voice of America tapes. All jazz fans should hear this CD, and `to hear it, is to want it`. Trust me, you may know Monk`s songs by heart but these performances at Carnegie Hall have their own fabulous iridescence that demand a place among your most treasured jazz music. The CD yearns for deep concentration that will yield boat loads of enjoyment from some truly stunning solos. As noted elsewhere, it`s a pure pleasure to hear Monk on a perfectly tuned concert grand piano that has been played by other masters of classical, jazz, and pop music. He deserved it ! And Coltrane added ANOTHER DIMENSION to Monk`s music. A dimension different from Rollins and Rouse. Every song is a "Piece D`Resistance". The Early Show: Cutting sharply but deeply. Monk`s arpeggios behind Coltrane`s magnificent runs on "Monk`s Mood" are fabulous, in and out of tempo. "Evidence" has an unusual density not heard before. The unison head notes are pure beauty and the rhythm section of Shadow Wilson and Ahmed Adbul-Malik gets it right on time. "Crespuscule with Nellie" becomes a delta blues of rare beauty and empathy. Monk`s solo on "Nutty" is spellbinding and Trane makes his solo memorable as well. "Epistrophy" once again proves that Monk was able to squeeze `surprise` out of his most well-known compositions. Check out Shadow`s protean cymbal work, adding an unusual color to the head. The Late Show: More arranged structure but longer, looser performances. Throughly warmed up to it`s environs, the quartet takes it to another level with "Bye-ya". Check out Trane`s unique launch into this solo. And Monk is the "Comp Master", for sure. "Sheets of sound" make their first definitive appearance as Trane tears out huge chunks of wonderfulness from the theme. Monk polishes up a jewel of a solo. "Sweet & Lovely" finds Monks carving out `sweet` territory on the song, while Trane plays background harmony until he steps forward with an extended, sweeping, gear-shifting `lovely` group of statements. "Blue Monk" has Trane`s best solo moments of the night, slightly ahead of "S&L". And the fragmented "Epistrophy" is a set closer with Trane really setting sail for distant shores, Monk`s incomplete solo fittingly fades into history, unfinished. As all jazz should be! Thank you, T.S.Monk, Michael Cuscuna, Lewis Porter, Larry Appelbaum, Coltrane family, and thank you Blue Note Records. If you watch the BET Jazz Cable Channel, look for the T.S. Monk piece on how this recording was found, revitalized, and remastered. Fascinating piece of memorabilia. "Bye-ya"! (Note: don`t give up, Larry, find those Rollins and Gillespie tapes from the same concert, please)

New Chart by Ron Davis

Ron Davis has a new chart on the site. 

 

Gato is a latin style tenor sax feature, ala Gato Barbieri. The opening fanfare sets the stage for the theme featuring tenor lead and lots of room to stretch during solo section. Not too tough for brass players, with lead trumpet written to high F.

 

CLICK HERE to listen (scroll to the bottom)

Knoxville Jazz Orchestra

When you think of terrific big bands you usually think of the larger cities like New York or LA.  Actually there are quite a few terrific big bands in smaller towns across the country.  (Ok, so a steady gig usually consists of playing once or twice per month for beer, but at least we can get our cookies off playing some big band jazz.)

 

The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra is a prime example of an excellent big band in a relatively smaller metropolitan area.  The group was formed by a friend of mine from Chicago (we both moved out of town to smaller areas in 1999) where he was attending DePaul university, my alumni as well.  Vance is a wonderful trumpet player and writes some really good big band charts as well. 

 

I’m not sure how you could get so many great players in a smaller town like Knoxville but they seem to do just fine.  They even put together a tour to the Montreaux jazz festival a couple years ago.  Seems Vance has been doing a lot of writing in the last few years because the 3 CDs they have put out include a lot of his charts. 

 

Visit the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra website here.  And if you can catch them live, do so!  And buy a CD from them as long as you are there too.