Thelonious Monk Genius of Modern Music, Volume One (Mono) UHQCD

Numbered, Limited Edition UHQCD!
Playable on any CD player, the Ultimate High Quality CD greatly surpasses all previous CDs before it!
Thelonious Monk was still one of the many unknown musicians of the New York jazz scene when Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note, discovered him and immediately fell in love with the extremely idiosyncratic style of this pianist. Without hesitation, he offered Monk the first opportunity to record a record as a bandleader. Over the course of four sessions in 1947 and 1948, Blue Note documented Monk's inimitable art with various line-ups – from trio to quartet and quintet to sextet. They recorded some of his most famous compositions such as "Round About Midnight", "Ruby My Dear", "Epistrophy", "Well You Needn't" and "Thelonious" and released them as a 10-inch LP "Genius Of Modern Music". The album, released in 1951, is considered the cornerstone of bebop jazz today. It showcases Monk's distinctive innovation and creativity, and established his legendary reputation in the world of jazz.
In 1956, Blue Note began producing 12-inch LPs and launched the extraordinary "1500" series, which included the expanded version of "Genius Of Modern Music, Volume One" (BLP 1510). Line-up: Thelonious Monk (piano), George Taitt (trumpet), Idrees Sulieman (trumpet), Danny Quebec West (alto saxophone), Edmund Gregory (alto saxophone), Billy Smith (tenor saxophone), Robert Paige (bass), Gene Ramey (bass), John Simmons (bass), Art Blakey (drums), Shadow Wislon (drums).
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Made in Japan
• Superior Crystal Sound
• Ultimate High Quality CD
• XRCD-Like Luxury Digipak
• Playable on conventional CD players

Musicians:

• George Taitt, trumpet
• Idresse Suliman, trumpet
• Sahib Shihab, alto sax
• Danny Quebec West, alto sax
• Billy Smith, tenor sax
• Thelonious Monk, piano
• Milt Jackson, vibes
• Robert Paige, bass
• Gene Ramey, bass
• John Simmons, bass
• Art Blakey, drums
• Shadow Wilson, drums

Selections:

1. 'Round About Midnight
2. Off Minor
3. Ruby My Dear
4. I Mean You
5. April In Paris
6. In Walked Bud
7. Thelonious
8. Epistrophy
9. Misterioso
10. Well You Needn't
11. Introspection
12. Humph