Thelonious Monk - 'The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection'

“The piano ain’t got no wrong notes.” – Thelonious Monk

In 2017, in honor of his centennial birthday, Craft Recordings released this limited-edition box set that includes all five of the 10-inch vinyl LPs Monk recorded for Prestige Records from 1952 to 1954.  Jacket design and LP labels have all been faithfully reproduced, while the original recordings have been carefully restored and remastered.  A new booklet contains a slew of liner notes courtesy of Monk biographer Robin D. G. Kelley.

In 1952 when Monk secured a contract with Prestige, he was living in dark times.  He had been arrested in August 1951 for dope possession, and took the rap for his friend Bud Powell, which resulted in the revoking of his cabaret card, which also resulted in a lack of any potential income-generating gigs in New York City.  The Prestige recordings offered him the opportunity to reach wider critical and commercial acceptance.

The simply titled 'Thelonious' was his first release for the label. It was recorded in October and December 1952, produced by Ira Gitler and featured Monk accompanied by bassist Gary Mapp and drummers Art Blakey (in the first session) and Max Roach (in the second session)
 

Track list:

1. Little Rootie Tootie
2. Sweet And Lovely
3. Bye-Ya
4. Monk's Dream
5. Trinkle, Tinkle
6. These Foolish Things
7. Bemsha Swing
8. Reflections

'Thelonious Monk Quintet Blows for LP' is the second LP. Accompanying Monk are, Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Julius Watkins on French horn, Percy Heath on Bass, and Willie Jones on drums.



Track list:

1. Friday The Thirteenth
2. Let's Call This
3. Think Of One

 

'Thelonious Monk Quintet' [Apparently Prestige didn’t seem interested in spending a lot of time on album titles - Ed.] is the third LP in the Prestige 10-inch set.  It was recorded in 1954 and features a lot more personnel shifts: Art Blakey is back behind the drum kit, Frank Foster replaces Rollins on tenor sax, Curly Russell plays bass, and Ray Copeland introduces the trumpet to the Monk Prestige sound.

Track list:

1. We See
2. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
3. Locomotive
4. Hackensack

'Thelonious Monk Plays' is the fourth LP, and it’s back to the trio format, with Percy Heath on bass, and Art Blakey on drums.



Track list:

1. Work
2. Nutty
3. Blue Monk
4. Just A Gigolo

'Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk' is the final LP in the set. It was originally conceived as a Sonny Rollins album with bassist Tommy Potter, drummer Art Taylor and pianist Elmo Hope as sidemen, the situation quickly changed when Hope was arrested on dope charges and Monk was brought in to take his place.

Track list:

1. The Way You Look Tonight
2. I Want To Be Happy
3. More Than You Know

The entire five-LP set is one delightful treat after another, not just because you’re hearing an extremely innovative musician and composer like Thelonious Monk at one of his greatest creative peaks, but because this particular era – like so much of Monk’s output – has never quite been replicated by anyone since. 

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