Recorded - May 21, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan
Thelonious Monk – piano
Charlie Rouse - tenor saxophone
Butch Warren – bass
Frankie Dunlop – drums

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer.
Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire (including his classic works "'Round Midnight" and "Blue Monk"). He is often regarded as a founder of bebop, although his playing style evolved away from the form. His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations.

The seven-song Unique Thelonious Monk (1956) platter was the pianist's second during his remarkable five-year tenure on Riverside. His debut for the label was the aptly titled Plays Duke Ellington (1955) and once again, on this disc, Monk's song selection did not feature any original compositions. Rather, the well-chosen standards included exemplify and help further establish the pianist and bandleader within the context of familiar melodies at the head of a trio -- consisting of Oscar Pettiford (bass) and Art Blakey (drums). Regarding the personnel, while Pettiford had also accompanied Monk on the Ellington sides, Blakey replaces Kenny Clarke. The pairing of Monk and Blakey cannot be overstated. Immediately, evidence of their uncanny instrumental interaction is the rhythmic focal point of "Liza, All the Clouds'll Roll Away" as the two play musical cat-and-mouse. They cajole and wheedle atop Pettiford's undulating undercurrent as it sonically corals their skilled syncopation and otherwise inspired mile-a-minute interjections. This is starkly contrast to the haunting, lyrical piano solo on "Memories of You." Monk infuses the piece with such profound ingenuity and integrity that his re-evaluation and innovative arrangement are singularly and undeniably his own. Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose" reels with a frolicking and ever-so-slightly inebriated gate. It is likewise highlighted by Monk's dreamlike single-note runs up and down the keyboard and the stride piano-style chord progressions that preserves a fluidity within the tune. The advanced score maintains a guise of almost goofy abandon within Monk's highly logical and well-sculpted musical structure. The juxtaposition of "Darn That Dream" is another study in the vacillating moods of The Unique Thelonious Monk. The sophisticated performance is understated, yet remains loose and limber and perfectly in keeping with the album's leitmotif of exploring Monk's skills as an arranger and musician. As if he were testing his audience, the manic and atonal opening to "Tea for Two" -- briefly featuring Pettiford on bowed upright bass -- rollicks with a youthful visage, rather than being a simple reworking of this well-established classic. This LP concludes with one of Monk's most memorable pieces on the fun and freewheeling "Just You, Just Me." The trio struts and glides as Monk's intricate fingering simultaneously displays his physical dexterity as well as his ability to play so deftly in the moment. Both attributes would resurface ten-fold once Monk began to animate his own compositions on the genre-defining Brilliant Corners (1956). ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane is a 1961 album by Thelonious Monk issued on Jazzland Records, a subsidiary of Riverside Records. It consists of material recorded four years earlier when Monk worked extensively with John Coltrane, issued after Coltrane had become a leader and jazz star in his own right.
The album was assembled by the label with material from three different sessions. The impetus for the album was the discovery of three usable studio tracks recorded by the Monk Quartet with Coltrane in July of 1957 at the beginning of the band's six-month residency at New York's legendary Five Spot club near Cooper Square.[4] To round out the release, producer Keepnews included two outtakes from the Monk's Music album recorded the previous month, and an additional outtake from Thelonious Himself recorded in April.[5] The latter selection, "Functional," is a solo piano piece by Monk.
It was reissued in 2000 on Fantasy Records as part of its series for back catalogue using the JVC 20-bit K2 coding system. Because of the historical significance of this album it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.

Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane are universally recognized as musical demigods. The idea of Monk and Coltrane--the genius mentor and the budding genius--on the same bandstand or in the same recording studio is like Julius Erving and Michael Jordan soaring as teammates, or Jean Renoir and Francois Truffaut collaborating on a film. For an all-too-brief, magical time in 1957, Monk and Coltrane actually did work together every night as part of a quartet led by the uniquely brilliant pianist-composer Monk at New York's now-fabled Five Spot Cafe. And between April and July of that year they made the stunning music contained herein, their complete output in the recording studio.

</p>The planets seemed to align for Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982) and John William Coltrane (1926-1967) when they joined forces in '57. Coltrane was poised to make a giant leap forward--and ready to learn from one of the masters, Monk. In a Down Beat interview Coltrane said: "Working with Monk brought me close to a musical architect of the highest order. I learned from him in every way." Some of those answers involved the way in which Coltrane's harmonic acuity developed, expressed via early intimations of his torrential "sheets of sound." With Monk's chords guiding him to places he'd never before visited, Coltrane was now on the path to transcendence. When he is joined by Coleman Hawkins, jazz's father of the tenor saxophone, on a couple of numbers from the epochal septet album Monk's Music, one hears the tenor's past, present, and future (e.g., the master take of "Epistrophy"). And listen raptly to the respective approaches of Hawkins and Coltrane on the two versions of "Ruby, My Dear," one of three signature Monk ballads in this set (the others are "Monk's Mood" and the ever-evolving "Crepuscule with Nellie").

</p>There is such greatness on these two discs, so many wondrous performances (the rhythm team of bassist Wilbur Ware and drummers Art Blakey or Shadow Wilson is especially inspired), and so many fascinating stories about how these masterpieces came into being. Orrin Keepnews, who as producer of the original sessions was present at the creation of every note, has written a superb essay that sets the record straight, clears up long-standing rumors about what did (and did not) go down in the studio, and, above all, lets the listener in on how a genius mentor, a budding genius, and their gifted colleagues went about the business of conceiving a work of art.

<span class="h1"><strong>Monk and Coltrane Photos</strong></span> <table width="400" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4"> <tr align="center"> <td><img src="
" width="125" border="0"></td> <td> </td> <td><img src="
" width="125" border="0"></td> <td> </td> <td><img src="
" width="125" border="0"></td> <td> </td> <td><img src="
" width="125" border="0"></td> </tr> </table>

<span class="h1"><strong>More Monk & Coltrane</strong></span>
<span class="tiny"></span> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
Monk's Dream</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
The Essential Thelonious Monk</td></tr><tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
Monk Alone</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
A Love Supreme, John Coltrane</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="
" border="0">
Blue Train, John Coltrane</td> </tr> </table> </p>

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger.

塞隆尼斯·斯菲爾·孟克 是一名美國爵士樂鋼琴家和作曲家。孟克擅長即興表演，同時也為爵士樂發展做出貢獻。孟克是史上作曲數排名第二的爵士樂作曲家，僅次於艾靈頓爵士。 他的作曲與即興表演充滿了所謂「不和諧的和聲」，和其非傳統的鋼琴手法搭配，極富衝擊感。

Recorded in New York City on October 15 (tracks 1-4), December 18 (tracks 5, 6, 9 & 10), 1952 and September 22, 1954 (tracks 7 & 8)
Recording engineer: Rudy van Gelder (tracks 7&8 ) & unknown (tracks 1-6, 9-10)
"Gerry Mapp" is the name listed on the original record, but in fact the name of the bass player on these sides is Gary Mapp.
Thelonious Monk - piano
Percy Heath - bass (track 7)
Art Blakey - drums (tracks 1-4, 7)
Gerry Mapp - bass (tracks 1-6, 9-10)
Max Roach - drums (tracks 5-6, 9 & 10)
an uncredited person plays a shaker (in son clave rhythm) on "Bye-Ya"

朋友从国外给我带回了这张唱片，说实话很少听Noble Jazz这一类型的音乐，他说我不够专业又不懂音乐，哎被他盘问的说不上话来，只能硬着头皮听完了这张CD。
高雅音乐听来真是有点吃力，但我认为Noble Jazz音乐涵盖比较广，选曲方面海阔天空，关键是编曲不落俗套，要有高品味，这样才可以让一些耳熟能详的名曲焕发魅力，使听众尝到新鲜的东西。这方面这张CD做得十分完美。
说实话这张CD虽然不懂他的意思，但是那种感性深情的合奏带着轻快醉人、热情洋溢的气氛，足以在大热里令人吹起凉风。（编写：留住夏季的风）。

Thelonious Monk's 1963 Newport Jazz Festival set has been released in whole or part on several different Columbia releases, but this 2002 reissue is the best version yet. One finally gets to hear nothing but Monk on this edition, with the added bonus of a previously unreleased and undocumented appearance from the 1965 festival. The earlier material, with Charlie Rouse, Butch Warren, and Frankie Dunlop, is already very familiar to serious Monk devotees, particularly the inspired addition (due to the suggestion of festival producer George Wein) of clarinetist Pee Wee Russell on two songs. Russell's dissonant lines fit right in, and it is unfair to criticize him for temporarily losing his footing when Monk suddenly ducks out of "Nutty" in the middle of his guest's solo, since there were no rehearsals prior to the performance and it was also unlikely (but not impossible) that Russell was very familiar with Monk's recordings. Russell has no problems during "Blue Monk," a more straightforward blues that seems to inspire the veteran, who is usually lumped into Dixieland or Chicago-style jazz, even though his approach to the instrument seemed to stretch beyond those boundaries. Monk's quartet versions of "Criss Cross," "Light Blue," and "Epistrophy" are all first rate. Bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley join Monk and Rouse for the relatively brief 35-minute set from 1965, with a long but impassioned "Off Minor" standing out from the remainder of the performance. It's hard to say that this previously unavailable music breaks any new ground, as Monk is documented on stage within a number of earlier Columbia discs. While this two-CD set isn't the best place for a newcomer to jazz to start, true Monk fanatics will want to add this release to their libraries. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi