Thelonious Monk - The Complete Prestige Recordings [2000] + The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection [2017] (8 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ

THELONIOUS MONK

Thelonious Monk - The Complete Prestige Recordings [2000] + The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection [2017] (8 x CDs)

Exploring Thelonious Monk’s early‑1950s work through both The Complete Prestige Recordings and The Complete Prestige 10‑Inch LP Collection offers a rare chance to hear the same material from two different angles, one archival and expansive, the other historically faithful to how listeners first encountered Monk. Together, they form a fuller portrait of a musician sharpening his voice before the wider jazz world understood what he was doing.

The 2000 Complete Prestige Recordings set is the deep dive. Across its three CDs, every studio take from 1952 to 1954 is preserved: master takes, alternates, breakdowns, and the small bits of studio chatter that reveal how Monk shaped his ideas. Hearing multiple versions of pieces like “Think of One” or “Bemsha Swing” shows how subtle shifts in voicing or rhythmic emphasis could redirect the entire feel of a tune. The remastering brings out the crispness of Rudy Van Gelder’s engineering, giving Monk’s percussive touch and the interplay with sidemen like Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, and Max Roach a clarity that rewards close listening.

The 10‑inch LP Collection, by contrast, recreates the original Prestige albums exactly as they appeared in the early fifties. These short, tightly sequenced records present Monk as his first audience heard him, concise, mysterious, and already unmistakably himself. Without alternates or session material, the focus shifts to the shape of the albums: compact statements built around Monk’s compositions, delivered with a sense of purpose that still feels fresh.

Taken together, the two sets complement each other beautifully. One documents the process, the other preserves the product. For collectors, pairing them offers the most complete view of Monk’s early Prestige years, one set showing how the music was made, the other showing how it entered the world. (B)

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Track lists

The Complete Prestige Recordings [2000]

CD1

01 Thelonious Monk - Flyin' Hawk 2:51

02 Thelonious Monk - Recollections 2:55

03 Thelonious Monk - Drifting on a Reed 3:06

04 Thelonious Monk - On the Bean 2:43

05 Thelonious Monk - Bye-Ya 2:47

06 Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream 3:07

07 Thelonious Monk - Sweet and Lovely 3:36

08 Thelonious Monk - Little Rootie Tootie 3:07

09 Thelonious Monk - Bemsha Swing 3:11

10 Thelonious Monk - Reflections 2:48

11 Thelonious Monk - These Foolish Things 2:48

12 Thelonious Monk - Trinkle, Tinkle 2:51

13 Thelonious Monk - Think of One (take 1) 5:40

14 Thelonious Monk - Let's Call This 5:07

15 Thelonious Monk - Think of One (take 2) 5:46

16 Thelonious Monk - Friday the 13th 10:36

CD2

01 Thelonious Monk - We See 5:17

02 Thelonious Monk - Locomotive 6:23

03 Thelonious Monk - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 4:32

04 Thelonious Monk - Hackensack 5:12

05 Thelonious Monk - Nutty 5:18

06 Thelonious Monk - Just a Gigolo 3:02

07 Thelonious Monk - Work 5:19

08 Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk 7:38

09 Thelonious Monk - I Want to Be Happy 7:45

10 Thelonious Monk - The Way You Look Tonight 5:14

11 Thelonious Monk - More Than You Know 10:53

CD3

01 Thelonious Monk - Bags' Groove (take 1) 11:10

02 Thelonious Monk - Bemsha Swing 9:33

03 Thelonious Monk - The Man I Love (take 1) 8:31

04 Thelonious Monk - Swing Spring 10:46

05 Thelonious Monk - Bags' Groove (take 2) 9:18

06 Thelonious Monk - The Man I Love (take 2) 7:57

The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection [2017]

CD1

01 Thelonious Monk Trio - Little Rootie Tootie 3:08

02 Thelonious Monk Trio - Sweet and Lovely 3:37

03 Thelonious Monk Trio - Bye-Ya 2:48

04 Thelonious Monk Trio - Monk's Dream 3:07

05 Thelonious Monk Trio - Trinkle, Tinkle 2:51

06 Thelonious Monk Trio - These Foolish Things 2:48

07 Thelonious Monk Trio - Bemsha Swing 3:11

08 Thelonious Monk Trio - Reflections 2:50

CD2

01 Thelonious Monk Quintet featuring Sonny Rollins - Friday The Thirteenth 10:32

02 Thelonious Monk Quintet featuring Sonny Rollins - Let's Call This 5:08

03 Thelonious Monk Quintet featuring Sonny Rollins - Think of One 5:46

CD3

01 Thelonious Monk Quintet - We See 5:16

02 Thelonious Monk Quintet - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 4:33

03 Thelonious Monk Quintet - Locomotive 6:23

04 Thelonious Monk Quintet - Hackensack 5:14

CD4

01 Thelonious Monk - Work 5:18

02 Thelonious Monk - Nutty 5:18

03 Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk 7:39

04 Thelonious Monk - Just A Gigolo 3:04

CD5

01 Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk - The Way You Look Tonight 5:14

02 Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk - I Want to Be Happy 7:43

03 Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk - More Than You Know 10:49

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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