The Unique Thelonious Monk is a 1956 album by Thelonious Monk.[6] It was his second for Riverside Records, and, like his Riverside debut, is made up of standards. It was a continuation of Riverside's strategy to broaden consumer interest in Monk by having him record cover versions of well-known material which, Riverside hoped, would help to break down the prevailing perception that Monk's original music was "too difficult" for mass-market acceptance.
| The Unique Thelonious Monk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1956[1] | |||
| Recorded | March 17 and April 3, 1956 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 38:12 | |||
| Label | Riverside | |||
| Producer | Orrin Keepnews | |||
| Thelonious Monk chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Original cover | ||||
 Cover of the original 1956 release. The "postage stamp" cover was used for pressings from 1958 onward.[2] | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
Riverside, at the time of the first re-issue, printed copies of the stamp that was featured on the cover art.[2] Some of these made their way through the United States Postal Service, which issued a restraining order against the company.[2] Monk was subsequently featured on a genuine stamp, which was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 1995.[7]
Track listing
editSide One
- "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" (George & Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn) – 3:11
- "Memories of You" (Eubie Blake, Andy Razaf) – 4:15
- "Honeysuckle Rose" (Fats Waller, Andy Razaf) – 5:32
- "Darn That Dream" (Eddie DeLange, James Van Heusen) – 6:30
Side Two
- "Tea for Two" (Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar) – 5:52
- "You Are Too Beautiful" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 4:53
- "Just You, Just Me" (Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages) – 7:59
Personnel
edit- Thelonious Monk – piano
- Art Blakey – drums (except for track 2)
- Oscar Pettiford – bass (except for track 2)
References
edit- ^ "Billboard". August 25, 1956.
- ^ a b c Kelley, Robin D.G. (2009). Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original. New York: Free Press. p. 249.
- ^ "The Unique Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Monk | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1025. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Yanow, Scott (May 8, 2000). Bebop. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306083 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Thelonious Monk". U.S. Stamp Gallery. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
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