Thelonious Monk - Live At Monterey Vol 1 (1963)
For Monk fans, these Mo-Fis are must-haves. Wow! After releasing so many mediocre rock albums, Mobile Fidelity came through with not one but TWO shiny gold CDs by the enigmatic, lovable Thelonious Monk (accompanied in these live recordings by Charlie Rouse on sax, John Ore on bass, and Frank Dunlop on drums). Wow! Volume 1 starts off with "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and then offers three Monk originals, "Well You Needn't," "Evidence," and "I Mean You." Wow! Volume 2 brings us one cover, "Sweet and Lovely," plus four Monk tunes, "Light Blue," "Criss Cross," "Epistrophy," and Bright Mississippi." Wow!
Either disk can stand by itself as a jazz treasure, but the real Monk fan will really have to get both. I seldom recommend premium-priced CDs, but here I am, enthusiastically recommending two of them. Wow! Alas, MFSL is gone, so you nay have a devil of a time finding them. Bummer!
ByKarl W. Nehring, amazon
