Thelonious Monk: With John Coltrane 1957 Revisited

Once again, the ezz-thetics label has taken some of the finest artefacts of mid-twentieth-century US jazz and sonically restored them, bringing an unprecedented level of clarity, precision and presence. It is no exaggeration to say that the Swiss-based label's work can be compared with the restoration of Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel during the 1980s, both in terms of the quality of the original material and the artistry with which the renovation has been executed. The work of label director Werner X. Uehlinger and audio wizard Michael Brändli really is that good—and that important.

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane 1957 Revisited collects most of the studio recordings Thelonious Monk made with John Coltrane in 1957 for the Riverside label, which originally released them as Monk's Music (1957) and Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane (1961).

The album opens with "Monk's Mood," a trio recording Monk made with Coltrane and bassist Wilbur Ware on April 16, 1957. It is followed by the six tracks which made up Monk's Music, recorded on June 26. Then the three tracks recorded for Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane in late July or early August. The closer, "Functional," for solo piano, takes us back to April 16. Playing time is 75:43.

Few if any AAJers will need to be reminded of the treasures to be heard here, nor of the significance of 1957 in the careers of both Monk and Coltrane. Monk was still at the peak of his powers as a player and composer (here is the first recording of "Crepuscle With Nellie"), showing no signs, on stage or on record, of the illness that would ever more severely afflict him from 1960 onwards. Coltrane, following his six-month residency at the Five Spot as a member of the Monk quartet, arrived at a new level of maturity as 1958 dawned. There are too many high points here to list and we will all have our favorite moments. But chief among them are Monk's sublime arrangement of "Abide With Me" for the horns of Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Gigi Gryce and Ray Copeland, the tragedy being that it lasts only 0:55; the extended hard-swinging performances of "Epistrophy" (10:48) and "Well, You Needn't" (11.27); and Hawkins and Coltrane's contrasting versions of "Ruby, My Dear."

Remarkable, too, is the new assurance heard in Coltrane's performances of late July/early August. This may have had something to do with Hawkins' absence from the session. There is a (possibly apocryphal) anecdote about a young tenor player in the 1940s whose friend pushed him onstage to join in a jam session with Hawkins. Asked afterward what the experience was like, the young gun said it was OK but that Hawkins "scared the shit" out of him. Replied his friend, "Coleman Hawkins is meant to scare the shit out of you.."

As Emily Post said, you cannot polish a turd. But you sure can breathe new life into old masters, and ezz-thetics has pulled it off again here.

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