'Thelonious Monk - The Complete Blue Note

Thelonious Monk - "The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk"

Mosaic Records 4-LP Limited Edition box set - MR4-101 (limited to 7500 albums)

Disc 1.
Humph; Evonce; Suburban Eyes; Thelonious; Nice Work; Ruby My Dear; Well You Needn't; April in Paris;
Disc 2.
Off Minor; Introspection; In Walked Bud; Monks Mood; Who Knows; 'Round Midnight; All The Things You Are; I Should Care; Evidence; Misterioso; Epistrophy; I Mean You;
Disc 3.
Four in One; Criss Cross; Eronel; Straight, No Chaser; Ask Me Now; Willow Weep For Me; Skippy; Hornin' In;
Disc 4.
Hornin' In; Sixteen; Carolina Moon; Let's Cool One; I'll Follow You; Reflections; Misterioso;

Everything you ever wanted to know about Monk's Blue Note recordings, but were afraid to ask. These 1947 through 1952 sessions were his first as leader and prime mover. Replete with alternate takes, they show him to have been an iconoclast from the start, a unique Jazz composer with such a special sense of accent, rhythm and dour melody that his compositions, even when under hands other than his, always bear his distinctive stamp.

Many people are just discovering Monk and exploring the simple intricacies of his music. With this box of 4 LPs, which holds a contiguous record of his earliest works, we, too, are able to discover (or rediscover) and explore the very foundations of his canon. It is amazing to see how the participating sidemen, players with identifiable styles of their own, were so readily bent to the needs of Monk's muse. Eleven previously unreleased alternate takes are made available and offer insight into Monk's methodology. Most surprising of all, a previously unissued Monk tune, "Sixteen," is herewith presented in two takes (from the 5/30/52 session), and from the same session - we get a previously unreleased standard, "I'II Follow You." never again recorded by Monk.

I guess after a great artist is gone, whether musician, painter, writer, etc., there is a tendency to dissect every atom of his work, imbuing it all with a patina of the supernatural, until what we have is a body of holy relics. Well, I can tell you that this is no mass of holy relics, but a body of work that has a life and breath of its own and will live on in perpetuity. The accompanying large format booklet contains a complete Monk discography of authorized recordings, and a fascinating essay by Michael Cuscuna (who produced this set for release) which takes you through the individual recording sessions one by one. High quality pressings in rice paper sleeves only confirm the high production values evident in all aspects of this historically essential compendium of early Monk.