Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners

There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision. The assembled quartet for the much of these sessions includes Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax).

Derivative sax passages share the stage with gentle and sprightly unorthodox piano tinklings as the drums shift from traditional beat-keeper to bizarre soloist where the percussion replaces the fast and thundering to hesitant and plodding.

Heavyweight vinyl produced by Original Jazz Classics for Riverside Records in 2024. Original mono mix.