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5 By Monk By 5

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Thelonious Monk

 
5 By Monk By 5
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Avg: 4.0 (27 ratings)

Monk lays the foundation for his legend on this seminal side

  • We Say...

    Review by Harvey Pekar

    Cut in 1959, this is one of pianist Thelonious Monk's better albums, but it's also one of his most underappreciated. Monk appears here with cornetist Thad Jones, tenor saxman Charlie Rouse, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Art Taylor, an all-star line up. Monk wrote two new compositions for the occasion, "Jackie-ing" and "Played Twice" (of which three takes are included). Rouse had been with Monk only briefly when 5 by Monk by 5 was cut, yet he sounds thoroughly comfortable, swinging hard, varying his accent patterns and employing motivic development intelligently.

    Thad Jones, one of the greatest and most original cornetists — and trumpeters and flugelhornists, for that matter — to emerge since 1950, also sounds terrific. Monk's compositions are often difficult for jazzmen to improvise on, but Thad, who makes his only recorded appearance with him here, sounds like he's been playing them all of his life; he's utterly relaxed, eating up the changes and making his tone ring with authority. Monk's spare, dissonant solos are always a pleasure to listen to — he's a master at using silence. Sam Jones and Taylor make an admirable rhythm section team, playing propulsively but not obtrusively.

    Monk's work in the rhythm section behind Thad and Rouse is often jarring, but galvanizing. During Thad's first solo on "I Mean You," though, he quits comping, and doesn't comp during either man's spots during the rest of the track. As all the best jazz players know, sometimes laying out says more than chipping in.

  • They Say...

    Review by Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

    As the '50s drew to a close, so did Thelonious Monk's illustrious tenure on Riverside Records. In fact, the three dates needed for this title would be his penultimate for the label. The concept of the album consists of five Monk originals performed in a quintet setting. Ironically, this was the first time that Monk had recorded with a lineup that so prominently featured the "standard" bop rhythm section incorporating both a trumpet (or, in this case, cornet) and sax player. The quintet featured on Five by Monk by Five includes Monk (piano), Thad Jones (cornet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Rouse would become Monk's permanent tenor saxophonist for the majority of the 1960s. In what had become somewhat of a tradition, the disc's program consists of several of Monk's more established works as well as a few new compositions. One of the new works, "Jackie-ing" (incidentally, named after one of Monk's nieces), leads off the disc. It exemplifies the loose, disjointed, and exceedingly difficult arrangements that would define Monk as a premier composer/arranger/bandleader. This is in contrast to Monk the keyboard player and band member, which he skilfully demonstrates throughout the track as well as the rest of the album. The song's opening jam features a tasty tug of war between Rouse's animated lead and Monk's interjections and piano antics. Jones' cornet is incorporated tastefully throughout Monk's tricky arrangements. The stark contrast in performance timbre between the comparatively subdued Rouse or Monk and the frenetic bleating of Jones is notably disconcerting. The CD reissue includes two alternate takes of "Played Twice," the other Monk composition to be debuted on Five by Monk by Five.

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