Monk, Thelonious -quintet-
5 By Monk By 5 (clear)
An innovative and idiosyncratic pianist, Thelonious Monk has been hailed as one of Be-Bops founding figures, with unexpected melodic shifts and dramatic hesitation hallmarks of his work. Monk By Five is one of the lesser-known sessions recorded for Riverside in the late 1950s and is one worthy of a wider audience; it features the bright swing of the new Jackie-ing and the more dissonant Played Twice, alongside engaging revisits of Straight No Chaser, I Mean You and Ask Me Now, the interplay between Monk, cornetist Thad Jones and saxophonist Charlie Rouse especially noteworthy. Definitely worth investigating.