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Avg: 4.5 (319 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 1957
- Genre: Jazz
- Style: Classic Jazz, Bebop
- Label: Fantasy / Riverside
A Monk pinnacle with an all-star cast, here's an an all-time classic
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We Say...
Monk's third album for Riverside was the first devoted to the pianist's own original compositions. But Monk's stellar, ever-shifting quintet — which includes Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Max Roach, Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers and Ernie Henry — transformed Brilliant Corners into much more than a solo outing.
Recorded in New York in December of 1956, the album is endlessly inventive: "Pannonica" features Monk playing the piano with one hand and a celeste with the other. On "Bemsha Swing," Max Roach doubles his drumming with a series of tympani rolls. On the 13-minute "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are," the group stretches the blues almost beyond recognition. And on the only piano solo to appear, Monk burrows so hard into "I Surrender, Dear" that he reaches the emotional depths Louis Armstrong only hinted at in his own, 1931 recording of the ballad.
Better yet, Monk's spare, percussive playing gave his sidemen plenty of room to work with, his own genius bringing out the best in some very exceptional musicians: Sonny Rollins' solo on "Pannonica" is one of the finest he recorded, and the four tracks recorded with Ernie Henry (who died in a car crash not long afterwards) capture the precise moment in which the young alto sax prodigy came into his own. As a pinnacle of Monk's recording career, Brilliant Corners deserves a spot on any jazz lover's top-ten list. -
They Say...
Although Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third disc for Riverside, it's the first on the label to weigh in with such heavy original material. Enthusiasts who become jaded to the idiosyncratic nature of Monk's playing or his practically arithmetical chord progressions should occasionally revisit Brilliant Corners. There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision. The assembled quartet for the lion's share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax). Although a compromise, the selection of Miles Davis' bassist, Paul Chambers, and Clark Terry (trumpet) on "Bemsha Swing" reveals what might be considered an accident of ecstasy, as they provide a timeless balance between support and being able to further the cause musically. Likewise, Roach's timpani interjections supply an off-balanced sonic surrealism while progressing the rhythm in and out of the holes provided by Monk's jackrabbit leads. It's easy to write Monk's ferocity and Forrest Gump-esque ingenuity off as gimmick or quirkiness. What cannot be dismissed is Monk's ability to translate emotions into the language of music, as in the freedom and abandon he allows through Sonny Rollins' and Max Roach's mesmerizing solos in "Brilliant Corners." The childlike innocence evoked by Monk's incorporation of the celeste during the achingly beautiful ode "Pannonica" raises the emotional bar several degrees. Perhaps more pointed, however, is the impassioned "I Surrender, Dear" -- the only solo performance on the album. Brilliant Corners may well be considered the alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz. No serious jazz collection should be without it.
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| 01. |  |
Brilliant Corners |
7:45 |
|
| 02. | |
Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are |
13:07 |
|
| 03. | |
Pannonica |
8:50 |
|
| 04. | |
I Surrender, Dear |
5:27 |
|
| 05. | |
Bemsha Swing |
7:40 |
|
05 Total Tracks, 42:49 Total Length
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Credits
- Ernie Henry - Sax (Alto) // Ernie Henry - ? // Oscar Pettiford - Bass // Oscar Pettiford - ? // Max Roach - Drums // Max Roach - Drums // Max Roach - Drums // Max Roach - Tympani [Timpani] // Max Roach - Tympani [Timpani] // Max Roach - Tympani [Timpani] // Sonny Rollins - Saxophone // Sonny Rollins - Saxophone // Sonny Rollins - Saxophone // Sonny Rollins - Sax (Tenor) // Sonny Rollins - Sax (Tenor) // Sonny Rollins - Sax (Tenor) // Sonny Rollins - ? // Sonny Rollins - ? // Sonny Rollins - ? // Paul Chambers - Bass // Paul Chambers - ? // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - Trumpet // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Clark Terry - ? // Kirk Felton - Digital Remastering // Jack Higgins - Engineer // Orrin Keepnews - Producer // Orrin Keepnews - Liner Notes // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Piano // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Celeste // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Thelonious Monk - Soloist // Joe Tarantino - Mastering // Paul Bacon - Design // Paul Bacon - Cover Design // Kazue Sugimoto - Remastering Supervisor // Tamaki Beck - Mastering Engineer
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