When he set foot on the stage of Club Doelen on Oct. 28, 1967 in Rotterdam, Thelonious Monk had just turned 50. 15 years later, he disappeared from the music scene and spent his 6 final years in New York, at Pannonica de Koenigswater's, and never touched a piano again. This concert is a testament to his genius. Opening and ending with two “classic pieces”, “Ruby, My Dear” and “Blue Monk”, he led for over 80 minutes the quartet and his accomplices, Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, Ben Riley, and guests. Larry Gales's bass seems to pop out like a jack-in-the-box at the end of “Hackensack”, the brass instruments get carried away towards the middle of “We see”, and billow out and away in the breathtaking “Oska”. And it all leads to a solo time on “Don't Blame Me”: his fingers must be widely spread apart as he hits the keys the way you'd hit and shuffle cards. And then it's time to conclude with one of his classic tunes “Blue Monk”. The architect can set down his tools, what remains is pure art.

Alternate takes on a Monk solo LP are a revelation, and this reissue of his 1965 Columbia solo LP is packed with seven of 'em plus an additional bonus track!

Classical Music

Live archive release from the Jazz legend. Thelonious Monk Paris 1969 is a fascinating and important late-career document of the legendary Jazz pianist and composer in performance with his Quartet at the Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris, France on December 15, 1969. The concert also featured a surprise guest appearance from renowned drummer Philly Joe Jones.