nmorin Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I haven't heard Monk's sides for Black Lion from 1971. Anyone want to share an opinion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 They're all really good -- but the session with Art Blakey is exceptional. Hell, any Blakey/Monk combination is downright phenomenal. I wish they could have been recorded together more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Nothing but good to say about the trio stuff, but the solo sides are the prime meat for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I had foolishly believed the rather lukewarm comments about this material in the Penguin Guide for a long time, but upon scoring the Mosaic set of the Complete Vogue and Black Lion recordings I've finally been giving this music its due. It is truly top drawer Monk IMHO, and I agree that the solo recordings (especially the stuff corresponding to Disc 2 of the Mosaic CD set) are most remarkable. "Trinkle Trinkle" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Must-have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 "They" say his career was in twilight then. "They" forgot to tell Monk about that. He's going at it with an intensity that the Columbia records often miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 (edited) "They" say his career was in twilight then. "They" forgot to tell Monk about that. He's going at it with an intensity that the Columbia records often miss. The argument/misunderstanding between Monk ands his producer at Columbia, Teo Macero (as seen in the Straight No Chaser documentary), lead me to thinking that their relationship was not ideal and Monk might not have felt respected enough with the label. Now we all know how reacted toward this ..... At the time of the Black Lion recordings he had been asked to take part in the Giants of Jazz tour, and to make these recordings, and as usual rewarded his producer with some inspired playing. Forget what any lukewarm reviews say - these are great! But also somewhat different from earlier Monk. Comparing the solos here with earlier versions is more than interesting. Edited November 30, 2004 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I have volumes one and three as 20-bit from 1201 Music (and cheap thanks to Daedalus), but volume two never came out as 20-bit. I love how the clinking sound turned out to be Monk's overlong fingernails, and they were cut half-way through the session! Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 (edited) I have volumes one and three as 20-bit from 1201 Music (and cheap thanks to Daedalus), but volume two never came out as 20-bit. I love how the clinking sound turned out to be Monk's overlong fingernails, and they were cut half-way through the session! Bertrand. All three volumes did come out as 24-bit remastered reissues in Europe. I got a copy of Vol.2 from Amazon UK earlier this year. Edited November 30, 2004 by J.A.W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I was lukewarm about these too. Since getting the Black Lion remasters I've changed my mind. Not that the sound was poor in the first place, I'd just not listened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrdlu Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Another for these. Absolutely fascinating. The solo stuff reinforces the comment that Monk was not a bopper, but rather an advanced stride pianist. The solo and trio selections were all done at the one session, by the way. These performances show what was lost when Monk went to Columbia from Riverside. (Plus, the Rouse partnership, great at first, went on for too long and became kinda stale.) Really, one could say that these recordings are about the only good thing to have resulted from that ill-conceived "Giants of Jazz" tour. I first heard these in the Mosaic set, but the sound is much better on the Black Lion CDs, which are also very cheap and contain three takes not found in the Mosaic. Full marks to the Poms for taking advantage of the golden opportunity to make these recordings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I disagree that the Monk and Rouse relationship became stale, but not about these sessions. Excellent stuff, the solo stuff being the stuff I most spin. Wish more of the live material from Monk's last five years or so would be released on cd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I think T.S. Monk will eventually get around to it. Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 I will probably pick up the Black Lion remasters for the few tracks not included in the Mosaic, but would like to say that I find the sound on the Mosaic CDs to be quite good for the era (don't have the set right here in front of me but I believe this was a Malcom Addey job and it shows!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Great recordings. Monk ended his studio career at the top of his game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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