But there is also plenty of room for a lot of great Monk albums, and these two certain belong somewhere among the best of them - “Misterioso” and “Blues Five Spot” are perhaps the best individual songs here.
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I do think some go overboard with praise for these - nothing here quite matches Monk’s best Blue Note sides, for instance. These are some of the most beloved albums in Monk’s entire discography. In a way, it is possible to look at these albums as a kind of breaking point that map out the limits of where conservative and reactionary jazz listeners and critics started to bail out, as the overall commercial prospects for jazz music began to erode in the face of the growing popularity or rock ‘n roll (and folk).
MISTERIOSO THELONIOUS MONK FREE
Compared to the free jazz explosion just starting to appear - Cecil Taylor‘s group was booked at the very same Five Spot Café in late 1956 and Ornette Coleman‘s quartet would kick start the revolution from the club the following year - this stuff is comparatively tame, but it still points in that direction. Monk’s own playing is more gregarious than usual here. The drums and bass are fine, but are mostly anchored in a very conventional hard bop style, especially the walking bass. His more loose and freewheeling solos appear on Misterioso. That may be because his style of playing, on the one hand, deploys a kind of showy exposition of lighting fast fingering, and, on the other hand, quotes trivial pop melodies and floats away from the songs in a modernistic way the points beyond hard bop conventions. While both albums are well-respected, Griffin’s performances tend to draw more split opinions. Johnny Griffin was the group’s tenor saxophonist. But “Light Blue” and “Coming on the Hudson” were original compositions that appeared on record for the first time on Thelonious in Action as was “Blues Five Spot” on Misterioso. As usual, Monk was reprising a lot of his own songs he had played and recorded before, along with some standards. The 1958 Five Spot band played hard bop, of a kind that sort of epitomized its hip bohemian qualities. It was around this time that Monk enjoyed some of the widest critical acclaim of his career, and, relatively speaking, his music was commercially successful too. Monk’s appearance there was crucial in establishing the club as a congregation point for bohemian types like the Beats and assorted hangers-on - a good description of the club’s clientele and their motivations is found in the book The Battle of the Five Spot. The Five Spot was a small club in the Bowery.
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He returned to the Five Spot in 1958 with another band, documented on two albums: Misterioso and Thelonious in Action. But he regained it and undertook a long stand at the Five Spot Café in 1957.
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Thelonious Monk lost his cabaret card in 1951, which prevented him from performing live in New York for a number of years in the 1950s. The saxophonist's solo during the performance of "In Walked Bud" in particular has developed renown among critics and jazz musicians.Thelonious Monk Quartet – Misterioso Riverside RLP 12-279 (1958) and Thelonious In Action Riverside RLP-12-262 (1958) The album was remastered and reissued in 19 by Original Jazz Classics, and has since received retrospective acclaim from critics, some of whom viewed Griffin's playing as the record's highlight. Misterioso was originally met with a mixed critical reaction reviewers applauded Monk's performance but were critical of Griffin, whose playing they felt was out of place with the quartet. Misterioso's title was meant to evoke Monk's reputation as an enigmatic, challenging performer, part of Riverside's attempt to capitalize on his popularity with intellectual and bohemian audiences. According to Keepnews, the pianist played more distinctly here than on his studio albums in response to the audience's enthusiasm during the performance. T Monk, piano, Johnny Griffin, sax tenor, Ahmed Abdul Malik, baixo, Roy Haynes, bateria.
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The album was one of the first successful live recordings of Monk's music and was produced by Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records. Thelonious Monk - Misterioso Gravado em 58 lançado pela Riverside Records. Along with Thelonious in Action (1958), Misterioso captured portions of the ensemble's August 7 show at the venue. He returned there the following year for a second stint with his quartet, featuring drummer Roy Haynes, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin. By the time of its recording, pianist and bandleader Thelonious Monk had overcome an extended period of career difficulties and achieved stardom with his residency at New York's Five Spot Café, beginning in 1957. Misterioso is a 1958 live album by the Thelonious Monk Quartet. Buy Thelonious Monk Quartet, Thelonious Monk's album titled Misterioso.