The Thelonious Monk Quartet Monk's Dream Hybrid Stereo SACD

One of the Most Inventive Pianists of Any Musical Genre on Newly Remastered Hybrid SACD!
With the arrival of Thelonious Sphere Monk modern musiclet alone modern culturesimply hasnt been the same Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition spanning the entire history of the music from the stride masters of James P Johnson and Willie the Lion Smith to the tonal freedom and kinetics of the avant garde And he shares with Edward Duke Ellington the distinction of being one of the centurys greatest American composers At the same time his commitment to originality in all aspects of lifein fashion in his creative use of language and economy of words in his biting humor even in the way he danced away from the pianohas led fans and detractors alike to call him eccentric mad or even taciturn Consequently Monk has become perhaps the most talked about and least understood artists in the history of jazz.
By 1961 Monk had established a more or less permanent quartet consisting of Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone John Ore (later Butch Warren and then Larry Gales) on bass and Frankie Dunlop (later Ben Riley) on drums In 1962 Monk had also signed with Columbia records one of the biggest labels in the world and in February of 1964 he became the third jazz musician in history to grace the cover of Time Magazine.
Thelonious Monk was one of the most innovative pianists of his time, who had a decisive influence on his colleagues. Even his biggest followers weren't successful when it came to imitating his style. At the same time, Monk's music was deeply rooted in tradition and miles ahead of his time. With Duke Ellington, he shares the honor of being one of America's most important composers of the 20th century. However, his biting sense of humour, creative use of language and sparing use of words also earned him a reputation for being a taciturn eccentric.
Monk's quartet consists of Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone), John Ore (bass) and Frankie Dunlop (drums). Monks Dream is a gripping set of five Monk compositions and three standards, remastered for Original Recordings Group by Bernie Grundman.
"Monk's Dream is the Columbia Records debut release featuring the Thelonious Monk Quartet the tight almost telepathic dimensions that these four shared has rarely been equalled in any genre precious few musicians understood the layer upon layer of complexities and challenges that Monk's music created On tracks such as 'Five Spot Blues' and 'Bolivar Blues' Rouse and Dunlop demonstrate their uncanny abilities by squeezing in wellplaced instrumental fills while never getting hit by the unpredictable rhythmic frisbees being tossed about by Monk Monk's Dream is recommended with something for every degree of Monk enthusiast" - Lindsay Planer, allmusic.com
"This important album Monk's first after a long absence from the recording studio is a stunning reaffirmation of his power as a performer and composer It is a brilliant and absorbing program of five Monk originals and three standards (and they might just as well be originals so startling is their transformation at his hands) This is a beautiful album in every respect completely stimulating in each second of its more than 47 minutes" - Pete Welding, 5/5 Stars, Down Beat

• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
  

Musicians:

• Thelonious Monk, piano
• Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone
• John Ore, bass
• Frankie Dunlop, drum