Search - Thelonious Monk :: Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington (20 Bit Master)

One genius reflecting another.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 11/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1955, Thelonious Monk began his long association with Riverside Records-- he'd go on to record fifteen albums with the label over the next six years. The first album, on the insistence of the label, found Monk, the most important composer of his generation, exploring the music of the previous generation's most important composer, Duke Ellington. Eight Ellington standards, seven with a trio including bassist Oscar Peterson and drummer Kenny Clarke and one solo piano piece, are given readings.



The result is somewhat unexpected for those familiar with Monk's work-- by and large, many of the "Monkisms" are noticably absent on here-- the stride influence in his sound is subdued, the staggered start-stop lines tend not to surface, and the linear piano runs he was fond of do not make appearances. In their place, Monk performs in a positively inside manner, owing more to Ellington and his contemporaries than anything else. On occasion ("Mood Indigo"), his peculiarities as a pianist come forth, but by and large, its a pretty subdued effort.



Mind you, it's not a bad one, the performance is fantastic-- particularly from Pettiford who is all over and solos brilliantly on several tunes ("It Don't Mean a Thing", "I Let a Song Go out of My Heart"), and Monk manages to both capture the original mood of pieces (a lyrical take on "Sophisticated Lady") and capture something new (his oddly optimistic yet melancholy reading of "Black and Tan Fantasy"). And of course, Monk's solo piano reading of "Solitude" is nothing short of staggering.



Enhancing the experience is the 20-bit remastering-- really when digesting Monk's Riverside catalog, where available the new remasters (in cardboard slipcases) should be the reference point-- the sound on these is nothing short of revalatory-- crisp, clean, well balanced, with each instrument distinct and well worth the extra cost for the sonic upgrade. Included are the original liner notes, in this case an essay by producer Orrin Keepnews.



It's not a typical album for Monk, he definitely moves out of his own idiom, but "Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington" is nonetheless a fine recording. Recommended."