Just been listening to these albums, which have long been among my very favorite Monk recordings. I first got them as a twofer when I was a mere lad in the 70's and they opened my ears to Monk in a big way. Recorded in August 1958 at the Five Spot in New York, they feature Johnny Griffin on tenor, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums, and it's a wild ride. Monk liked tenor players with personality, and Griffin's hot, eager, playful playing gives the quartet a completely different flavor than Coltrane or Charlie Rouse. Like Griffin, Haynes is in ferocious form, and with the stalwart Abdul-Malik providing the backbone, the level of hip and joyful interplay is wonderful, a balm for the soul.

With "Monk in Tokyo" recently out to much fanfare, showcasing the justly celebrated Rouse, I just thought I'd throw in a plug for these essential recordings - there's no such thing as too much Monk. If you don't know these albums, there is no alternative - you have to seek them out. Today.

I'll second you on those - they've always been my favourite Monks.

Yeah, I love these, too. I know a lot of people say Rouse was better for Monk's music, but I just love Griffin. I wish he would have recorded more with Monk.

Of the two, I only have Misterioso, but it's probably the Monk album I listen to most.

These are probably my favorite Monk albums too. The band is so killin, it doesn't get much better than this!

Good albums, but for my money the horn players who made the most sense with Monk were Rollins & Thad Jones. I've also heard some unissued live stuff where Lacy was added to the quartet--great stuff. I'm actually not blown away by either Rouse or Griffin with Monk. But I'm also the guy who doesn't like George Coleman with Miles.

Contrarian, you, Pete. The real question is which cat was the best looking tenor.

Just kidding, of course.

This music is like oxygen to me.
I've got the cover to "Misteriso" on the wall of my record room.

Gotta chime in with praise for Misterioso! It was the first Monk album I ever heard, and it's still my special favorite (though I have many more yet to hear, including Thelonious In Action).

If it isn't too far afield for the thread, could somebody give me a Columbia Monk with Rouse rec? I know nothing about them, really, and from what I've read, I'm concerned that they might seem too polished and "smoothed over."

bluenoter,

I don't think the Columbias are too polished - it's just that the Riversides are better.

I'd recommend the double-cd "Live at the It Club". I'm not sure if it counts, since it was never issued on LP.

I had the pleasure of hearing Monk with Griffin a couple months later (October'58-Newport All-Stars on tour) on a bill with Lennie Tristano w/Konitz and Marsh, along with Anita O'Day. It was the first time I'd heard Monk live and a revelation.

My two favorite Columbias are "It Club" for the sheer energy and the parade of Monk classics, and "Underground," which has the bulk of Monk's later compositions.

Yeah, I'll chime in for the "It Club" too. Rouse is wonderful on it, and it swings with that particular Monk swing - I swear you can get high on it. Ben Riley's drum solo on "Blue Monk"! Larry Gales and Riley just never leave the pocket. It's a marvel.

Incidentally, Omar, "Live at the It Club" came out in the early 80's as a two-LP set - I know 'cause I bought it. What I didn't know was that they had excised most of the bass and drum solos. The CD puts them back, along with some previously unissued pieces.

I agree with Pete about Rollins...Would that he had recorded more with Monk. Sonny really clicks with Monk, much more so than Coltrane. After Rollins, I'll take Rouse.

Would love to hear the Lacy with Monk...I knew there were bootleg recordings of those dates, but I've never heard them. If anyone has access to those, let's talk business.

Bye-ya.

I really like Rouse. 5 by Monk by 5 was my first real exposure to Monk, and the solos by Rouse and Thad Jones (love his tone on cornet) still stick out in my mind. Also, the band that Rouse co-led with Julius Watkins, Les Jazz Modes, is worth checking out. Very advanced for the time, almost Mingus-like in places. I'll agree that Johnny Griffin was totally the wrong man for the job, but I think that's the whole point about these two records under discussion--they're all about the tension between Griffin's overtly Parkerian approach and high energy level and Monk just being Monk. By no means representative, but, in their way, essential. My favorite Monk recording would have to be the original Friday the 13th, with Rollins and Watkins. So much pathos there, which is quite foreign to Monk, generally, I think, but fits in beautifully on this piece, especially that three-note riff that Rollins incorporates into his solo, like a leitmotif.

Shit, I have to dig these albums out!

Phil Schaap played the Lacy with Monk recordings on KCR during the Lacy Festival (or was it the Monk festival?)

The "Les Jazz Modes" discs are indeed well worthing having. Even the vocal tracks, which have not aged as well as the instrumentals, are compelling in their own way. You're right: there's a touch of Mingus there, but also a touch of something neo-classical and neo-cabaret; like the work of Gil Melle, but better. Rouse really cooks.

I've gotta track those Lacy recordings down...

Bye-ya.

I might be the only one, but I think 'Monk's Dream' just kills. My personal fave, but maybe because it was the first Monk I heard.

With the small amount of material available, can we really judge what Coltrane sounded like with Monk?

Thanks, folks!

Shrugs--I always figured that we can't really judge.

'misterioso' is great

Bluenoter,
For the Columbias, I've been listening to "Straight No Chaser" a lot lately.
Monk sounds playful and engaged here, and Rouse is in full, rich voice.

I only recently got Misterioso, and I like it a good deal. Griffin gives a nice looseness to the music, and I like the way he says, "I got it, I got it" before he solos.

Brian, you're not the only one. I love "Monk's Mood"-- it's the only Monk on Columbia I've heard that I really like.

I also bought the records with Griffin as a twofer in the late 70's, and wore 'em out. How about "It's Monk's Time" on Columbia? I haven't heard it for a long time, but I remember being particularly taken with Brake's Sake and Shuffle Boil - all those overtones still ring in my ears years later.

Tom,

I have the Complete It Club too. I guess it's nice to have the whole concert, but those bass and drum solos seem very repetitive, to me. One of my favorite things about that album is how Monk and Rouse bounce off each other during the first chorus or two of Rouse's solos.

nWbh

The other day I re-heard 1962's "Monk's Dream" (the Columbia quartet date) - and I was surprised to find it relatively uninteresting and predictable. My recollection of it had been different!

Monk was happy to keep a steady, working band together, which was fine, but I wish he had been interested in working with some of the younger musicians in the early-sixties. I would have loved to hear Monk with guys like Dolphy, Cherry, Dennis Charles, Charlie Haden, etc.

Indeed!

Pete, very true. I would particularly of liked to hear Tony Williams with him.

nwbH

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Interesting to note: the great music critic Robert Christgau, really more of a "rock guy," has said that "Misterioso" is his favorite album of all time, regardless of genre - quite an accolade.

I love both of those records, though I think that I slightly prefer "In Action," at this point. The playing seems just slightly more assertive to me, though I know that doesn't make any sense. I'm no expert, but I really like Griffin's work with Monk. In fact, the Blakey/Monk album on Atlantic, with Griffin on tenor, is not only my favorite Monk, but one of my ten or so favorite jazz records, period. I think that his long-windedness is nicely tempered by his rhythmic accumen, and I think it makes for a great contrast with Monk's chasmic use of space. But hey, that's just me.