As the 1950s drew to a close, Monk's relationship with Riverside was beginning to sour over disagreements concerning royalty payments. He would not record another studio album for Riverside after 5 by Monk by 5, and a significant number of live albums followed, which showcased a variety of legendary performances across the USA, France and Italy. In 1962, Monk signed to Columbia Records. Working with producer Teo Macero on his debut for the label, the sessions in the first week of November had a stable line-up that had been with him for two years, Monk's Dream, was released in 1963. Columbia's resources allowed Monk to be promoted more heavily than earlier in his career. The album would become the best-selling LP of his lifetime, and on February 28, 1964, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, being featured in the article "The Loneliest Monk". He continued to record studio albums, including Criss Cross, also from 1963, and Underground, from 1968. Monk had disappeared from the scene by the mid-1970s, and made only a small number of appearances during the final decade of his life. His last studio recordings as a leader were made in November 1971 for the English Black Lion label, near the end of a worldwide tour with the Giants of Jazz, a group which included Dizzy Gillespie, Kai Winding, Sonny Stitt, Al McKibbon and Art Blakey. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz was established in 1986 by the Monk family and Maria Fisher. It's mission to offer public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the globe, helping students develop imaginative thinking, creativity, curiosity, a positive self-image, and a respect for their own and others' cultural heritage. In addition to hosting an annual International Jazz Competition since 1987, the Institute also recently helped, through it's partnership with UNESCO, designate April 30, 2012, as the first annual International Jazz Day. Monk was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
M**Y
A feast for the ears
I first heard thelonious monk on a late night jazz program on a public broadcasting radio station that had a daily 2 hour jazz show. I saw a documentary about him on tcm also. Kind of a misfit piano player with frequent flare ups of various psychological problems. Monk according to the documentary was a natural improvisational jazz pianist. It’s like his music has a life of its own like his heart and soul was really in it. Anyway I saw he just walked away from the whole scene for various reasons I suppose. I think even the band steely Dan were big fans of his as I believe he was mentioned in the song “midnight cruiser “. Anyway I don’t think you will be disappointed in this collection. One album had him playing along with John Coltrane that in itself covers the cost of the collection in my opinion. Anyway I think it’s a great collection for the price
A**S
Review of the jazz box-set series
When I first saw this jazz "Box-Set" series, I could not believe my eyes. Being an optimist, I decided to try it out. After receiving the first collection within days, not only was I extremely pleased with the quality of the recordings, I was also hooked as a jazz-loving consumer. To date, I have purchased approximately 15 different jazz collections (each containing 8 to 12 classic “albums,” digitized on 4 CDs), and have loved them all.So why the great deals? Turns out that the large majority of Americans have stopped buying CDs last decade. While this is a tragic turn for the struggling jazz musician trying to earn a living, it is a real blessing for music lovers. Driven by the basic forces of (large) supply and (low) demand, music distributors are selling their stock at unbelievably low prices.Ergo, jazz lovers are able to get multiple albums, combined in these collections, for one low price. Past the financial deals of these "box sets," I am a big fan of this series and the artists they are profiling. Most remarkably, many of the albums being "boxed" together have been previously difficult, if not impossible, to find on CD.Today, if one wanted to assemble a formidable jazz library, one could do so for a few hundred bucks. And for that investment, you would have 500 (or so) of the most important jazz recordings from 50 (or so) of the most important jazz musicians of the 20th century. I only wish such deals were available to me when I was younger and spending thousands of dollars struggling to build my jazz library. For example, 20 years ago, I spent $20 just to buy Coleman's "Shape of Jazz to Come." Now, for half that much, you can get all 8 of Coleman's salient records on CD from 1958-62. Same for the historic recordings from Dizzy, Coltrane, Mingus, Rollins, Monk, and Art Blakey (just to name a few).I know I am "old school" in wanting hard copies of these recordings. (Please, no need to tell me what my kids have been telling me for years). But, if you are like me, and you enjoy great jazz (primarily from the post-bop 60s) at a great price, you will not be disappointed. My jazz library has doubled in size and significance in the last few weeks thanks to these box sets/collections.
R**S
Great improvisational jazz - the best
This music is the best improvisational jazz ever recorded.
C**T
Monk
Classic Monk.
E**R
The music is bliss; sound quality is “meh”
Realistically I probably should have rated this as 4 stars due to the sound quality but the music is so wonderful I could only do it justice by giving it a full 5 stars.
A**B
Monk is an Icon
Even badly recorded discs of T Monk's work is exceptional. This is - for the price and the number of cd's you receive - is very GOOD. If you're new to his work, it's a perfect purchase. My biggest complaint is always the same - my package, the cd I purchase, the jewel case is badly damaged. This is an Amazon Logistics issue and a chronic issue at that. Some cd's arrive too badly damaged to listen to. A great collection and worth owning no matter the issue.
L**P
Indispensable
An abundance of Monk's works during the 50's -60's and sound quality is adequate if you crank it. I like the titles with Johnny Griffin who is featured on tenor sax. If you don't know, Griffin was one of fastest, baddest ass tenors there ever was. His work with Monk is phenomenal. He had none of the tentativeness that Rollins and even Coltrane hinted at. He blazed through the tunes undaunted by Monk's oblong, angular compositions nonplussed by their difficulty. Griffin brought a new wrinkle to Monk's music that can be found in no other tenor player.
A**D
talenteed musician
this is really a great collection of Thelonious monk's albums. they put this album set on 5 disc. they put 2 of his album on 1 disc so you get more of his albums at a reasonable price. I put his music up there with miles davis , Charlie parker , sonny rollins, Gerry mulligan, duke ellington. with all the jazz musicians past present and future monk's music will endure for decades to come. whether you hate him or love him you have to give him his dues. he would not have lasted as long as he did if he did not put out great music.
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