[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1957.
Country:
Overall rank: 699
Average rating: 81/100 (from 298 votes).

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Tracks:
1. Brilliant Corners
2. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
3. Pannonica
4. I Surrender, Dear
5. Bemsha Swing

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[Fischman]

Thelonious Monk could be difficult on many levels. His personality could be challenging and he could be difficult to work with. His music can be a difficult listen. It could also be wickedly difficult to play, especially for a complete ensemble to do so coherently. Many a fine musician made only one recording with Monk, vowing never again, and many others simply refused to even try in the first place. That very understandable phenomenon is one of the things that makes this album, and the musicians on it, so special. In spite of all the difficulties presented by both Monk and his music, everything comes together here to produce a fantastic album that, at least on paper, should never have been possible. While technically classified as hard bop, there's no shortage of avant garde here, even if the term had yet to make it into the jazz lexicon.

The opening title track is easily the most convoluted on the album, with crazy harmonics (indeed, heavy dissonance appears right in the first bar), insane rhythms, and potentially maddening tempo changes. Some musicians declared it "unplayable." Yet Monk managed to attract, and more importantly, keep an ensemble not only up to the task, but actually capable of propelling and expanding Monk's musical vision. Of particular note is saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who sounds as if he was actually born inside the mind of this music.

The most amazing thing about this album is that, while it is loaded with Monk's idiosyncrasies, it is loaded with very listenable tunes. Even some of the odd rhythms are somehow made to swing (thank you Max Roach/drums). The dissonance often sounds genuinely melodious. The musical arguments are not difficult to follow (relatively speaking) and someone more comfortable with traditional tonality and phrasing can still settle in nicely here. I definitely recommend this as an introductory Monk disc, although I might suggest skipping that opening title cut on the first run through. The strictly solo "I Surrender, Dear" can also be a great introduction to Monk's solo work. The inclusion of vibes on "Pannonica" gives it an even more accessible feel along with a genuinely hummable melody, of course spiced up with some unorthodox harmony.

As a side note, I really dig this album cover.