I was wondering where this thread was. I've been listening to this disc since its official release and I am absolutely blown away by Epistrophy. I mean, every time I hear Monk and band (pick one) play Epistrophy, I'm blown away, but this band had a unique approach to it, led off by Shadow. Wow. What a setup! All aboard!
At times, I don't even realize that Coltrane is playing. Some of the unison sections on the slower tempo tunes, he finds a way to blend into Monk so well. Other times, I feel like he is working up enough velocity to the point where he is moving in place and the rest of the music is moving forward. It puzzled me at first. I was listening and thinking that he wasn't moving with the music, but it only took a few listens to break in on me. Coltrane is in total control of his instrument here, and able to trace through this music with a real sense of familiarity and exhilaration.
The bass does seem to be the lowest in the mix, but not terrible at all. Shadow is very up front, along with Monk and Coltrane and I actually like this mix quite a bit. Especially considering Shadow's stripped down drum kit. This is like a stripped down quartet.
Monk is having a blast. I'm sure he was a lot of fun to be around that night!
Great release. Still looking forward to hearing the Bird&Diz for the first time.