Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall

Although there have been thousands of talented jazz musicians through the years and hundreds of stylists, only a small handful can be said to have permanently changed the music. John Coltrane, along with Miles Davis, is considered the most significant jazz musician of the past half-century. Born in Philadelphia in 1926, Coltrane picked up important early experience during the Bebop Era playing with Dizzy Gillespie's big band. Originally influenced by Dexter Gordon, Coltrane did not emerge as a soloist until 1955 when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet.

From 1955 until his death in 1967, Coltrane evolved quickly, and there were periods where his playing drastically improved and changed from month to month. He displayed an original sound on tenor, became a master at sheets of sound (playing flurries of notes), took chordal improvisation to the breaking point with "Giant Steps," formed a classic quartet in the 1960s, became a major innovator on soprano sax, explored intense two-chord vamps and played free improvisations. The jazz world followed him closely every step of the way.

After he left the Miles Davis Quintet in early-1957, 'Trane teamed up with the highly original pianist-composer Thelonious Monk for six months. Their nightly sessions at the Five Spot became legendary, helping Coltrane musically and giving Monk long overdue fame. Until recently, only a few studio numbers were released of their legendary collaboration. However, tapes of a radio broadcast were discovered at the Library of Congress and the music on At Carnegie Hall, from November 29, 1957, is quite brilliant. Monk and Coltrane team up for nine selections with bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Shadow Wilson, including "Evidence," "Nutty," "Bye-Ya" and "Blue Monk." The results are quite exciting and historic, adding greatly to the musical legacy of both John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.

Highly recommended.

—Scott Yanow

Larry Appelbaum, the recording lab supervisor at the Library of Congress, came across this tape by accident while transferring the library's tape archive to digital. What a find. Forget the Five Spot recording that sounds like it was recorded inside of a tunnel from the far end. The sound here is wonderfully present and contemporary. More importantly, this band -- which also included drummer Shadow Wilson and bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik -- had it right on November 29, 1957, at Carnegie Hall. The John Coltrane on this date is far more assured than he had been four months earlier on the Five Spot date and on the initial Prestige side Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. He'd been with Monk for four months and had absorbed his complex, multivalent musical system completely. It's clear from the opening track, "Monk's Mood," where the pair play in duet, that Coltrane is confident and moving into his own. Monk feels that confidence with his nearly Baroque entrance on the tune. This is a hard-swinging band with two front-line players who know how to get the best from one another. Coltrane knows the music inside out and his solos reflect an early version of his sheets of sound methodology. Check the joyous "Crepuscule with Nellie" for the hard evidence. Coltrane's cue and Monk's arpeggios are wondrous, swinging, and full of fire and joy. Trane's fills on the melody that leads into his solo are simply revelatory, and the solo itself is brilliant. Or check Wilson's cymbal work on "Nutty" before the band kicks it in full force. Even on the knottiest of Monk's tunes, "Epistrophy," Trane shines and takes charge of his instrument while being utterly receptive to the continual shape-shifting Monk put into his compositions in a live setting. There are nine tunes here (an incomplete version of "Epistrophy" finishes the set) taken from early and late performances. These 51 minutes of music leave the Live at the Five Spot date in the dust. This is one of those "historic" recordings that becomes an instant classic and is one of the truly great finds in jazz lore. It documents a fine band with its members at the peak of their powers together. The package also contains voluminous liner notes by the likes of Ira Gitler, Amiri Baraka, Ashley Khan, Stanley Crouch, and others. This is a must-have. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide