From 1961, featuring Charlie Rouse… though the stand-out is Just A Gigolo, by Monk solo.
Terrific 1963 date with Charlie Rouse, John Ore and Frankie Dunlop.
Originals and standards; nothing Monk hadn’t recorded before. Bubbling, chewy versions of Hackensack and Rhythm-A-Ning; a fabulous, seven-minute, solo Don’t Blame Me.
As Baroness Nica notes poshly on the sleeve, ‘this is the happiest of albums, leaving one with an extraordinary feeling of elation.’
With Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Larry Gales (bass), Ben Riley (drums). And Jon Hendricks with a great vocal version of In Walked Bud.
Crucial music from three different 1957 sessions, originally released in 1961, after the opining emergence of Coltrane. Different lineups introduce Art Blakey, Wilbur Ware, Coleman Hawkins, Gigi Grace, Ray Copeland…
Newly all-analogue-mastered from the original tapes and presented in a tip-on sleeve with obi.