Reviews (page 2 of 13)
I fear jazz , but this is great Serious jazz. Loved by the likes of Louis Balfour and Howard Moon. Not sure I’m smart enough to talk about this other than .. Nice. “I fear the lack of rules. Skiddly biddly dee wop ba-wow. “…Jazz
jazzy
Not nearly as cool as the moniker "Thelonious Monk" suggests. Painfully standard.
Jazz for me is largely the quality of the leader and the sidemen. This was perfectly fine, but given the players I was hoping for more.
Not a big fan of jazz, it all sounds the same to me. But it was a nice and enjoyable album. (2.7/5)
More lite jazz…
I'm not into jazz a lot so I cannot comment
Ugh jazz!
Too bland
I can appreciate the technical skill on display, but none of the songs feel like they have much purpose to them. It feels more like a jam session they happened to have recorded.
A perfect album as soon as his fingers hit the keys.
Pavement jazz
Thelonious the GOAT fr. His middle name is Sphere.
I was gonna say something about Monk being the Bach of jazz, meaning something about systematicity and bold harmonic sense and austerity, or lack of sentimentality. But the more I thought about it, the less it made sense, and then I thought some more about whether he was maybe the Satie or the Schoenberg or the Debussy of jazz, but nothing made sense. Then I realized the obvious – he’s the Monk of jazz, and this is, of course, the “Brilliant Corners” of Monk’s œuvre. Anyway, this album is great.
Rainy day here in the midwest. Not all of the lights on in the office. I listened to this when it was my daily initially, but knew that there'd be a day sometime soon that felt more adequate. Today was the day. Made me want to look out the window. Swanky and impolished. Felt like a fly on the wall in a recording studio after hours. Each song was very uniquely its own. No discerning favorite. Rating: 8.2/10
I used to love Gaz but recently it is not my go to music. Thelonious Monk was always a favorite. His piano playing is brilliant
I listened to this non-stop while grinding work until 8 on Friday... to be honest I didn't retain much of it at all, but listening to it again over the weekend I started enjoying it a lot more. There's a lot to pull apart in these songs; the saxophone is the main melody across a lot but the other instruments have a lot going for them as well. Monk has a pretty dissonant style which maybe he pioneered? This would be one of those albums to have on vinyl.
Interesting background for the recording--25 takes and none of them were satisfactory so they were edited into one album. Definitely have a bias for some nice jazz, liked "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are" a lot.
I bet those who like it like it.
Review - I've never been able to get into this album and it makes me feel stupid. It's not bad, but Monk's music never grabs me the way Miles Davis, John Coltrane, or even Bill Evans albums do, and I can't put my finger on why that is. I enjoyed this album, but I had moments of much less active listening. I couldn't tell you if certain 5 minutes stretches of the album are interesting or not. I have to temper the score based on this. Score - 5.5/10 Need to listen? YES
2 jazz GOATs. Gotta love it
I did not care for this. Obviously there is talent, and they are all very good at their instruments. That being said it’s hard to parse out any semblance of a song. Jazz is tough for me; it isn’t pleasant to listen to and I don’t care enough about the idea of breaking conventions, etc. to be really excited to hear it.
jazzy jazz
Pre Listen: Thelonious Monk sounds like the name of a DnD character who COULD be an ally, or could be a conniving, traitorous antagonist. All seriousness, this another one I feel like I've heard the name of, but I don't know where. Guessing ultra-classic rock based on release date? Notable Tracks: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are - First highlight, awesome track right here. I know the music's amazing when 13 minutes feels like 4, and I'm left wanting more. Pannonica - Favorite track. It has this warm, almost Christmas like feel to it. I think it's the low-register notes on the brass and piano, paired with a slower tempo, and high-register Glockenspiel (or what I think is a glockenspiel?) Bemsha Swing - Love that drum solo! Just love it! Post Listen: Absolute best album I've heard on this project to date, what an absolute treat. I might be adding every single track to my playlist. Just good old classic Jazz, no if's and's or but's. Every single instrument is played so damn well, but the standout to me was the Piano. What a rich, full sound it carries, and for a '57 recording, it sounds so full-bodied. But seriously, can't overstate how talented every single musician feels on this album. I can tell each song has been rehearsed several times over, they're all so clean. Fuck you Miles Davis, take a lesson from the Monk. 5/5 EDIT - After revisiting this album and my favorite songs a few times over, a couple of pretty glaring cracks made themselves known to me. Specifically some songs go on for much too long than needed, and have some wacky solo's here and there. Still a great album, but not as good as I felt it was upon initial listen. 4/5
Composições intrincadas com resoluções melódicas maravilhosas. Ótimo disco!
Trivelig jazz.
All this great jazz coming from the 1950's is really skewing my data on this site in a weird way.
Good jizz, not great jizz though
This was good.
Loved it, could I tell you if it was good or not, absolutely not, it was deeply confusing to me. All's I know is i loved it 4/5
I've had two jazz records in a row. One was a Thundercat record from 2017 and now this from 1957. What this has taught me, is that whether old or modern. Jazz is bollocks.
Very enjoyable
I love Thelonious Monk!
Great players.
im working to like jazz more and I did like this !
Bell'album poi mi ha fatto venire voglia di ascoltare anche altre canzoni di Monk
Good stuff, it’s the vibe.,worth another listen.
I really wish there were more albums like this on the list of 1001 I must hear before I die. I mean, did someone really think, "You absolutely need about seven albums featuring Morrissey to get the full sense of that guy's musical genius! Thelonious Monk? I don't know, I guess just pick any old mid-career album and that should sum it up." Don't take that the wrong way! This is an absolutely GREAT album, and at least they've picked one that highlights Monk's unparalleled skill as a composer. But that someone made the decision that it's more important for people to listen to SIX Nick Cave albums than maybe two by Monk (or even ONE by Warren Zevon, for that matter) just really throws shade on this entire undertaking.
Freedom to explore without a strong melody. Nice
Got 2 minutes in to the first song. I have no plans spending 40 more minutes with this. Probably great if you like it. I don't.
Hard bop.
self-explanatory title.
Thelonious is great! The energy is subtle but I like putting him on when I’m doing something to make the activity more enjoyable. This album feels like a fun jam session among friends!
Just some beautiful jazz for a Friday afternoon
Not my jam...I like words. But it was lovely. 2.5 or 3
5.0/10 I recognize he's a genius and his playing is technically amazing.. but not digging some of these tunes
A musical act of rebellion and fuck you to the New York musical establishment, sponsored by a wealthy heiress and born of 1950s drug fuelled parties. Man I wish I was there.
There is a time and a place for this, a 90s wedding, obviously the 50s in general, a slightly dated cocktail bar that mixes everything with full fat milk.. but the time nor the place is when I'm already feeling pissed off working from home at my desk. It just doesn't hit there, I found myself feeling wound up by it. That's a me problem, but it's MY review not yours.
I'm not hugely into jazz stuff like this but it was nice enough to soundtrack a walk through central London, kinda just background music to me really
Pretty dam ok
Good background album, wouldn’t put it on in any music forward situation
I really don't like this type of jazz, where it's just instrumental
To me, it sounded like 40 minutes of the musicians just warming up. Every so often I thought I heard something interesting, but on closer listening I realized I was mistaken. I’ve come to the conclusion that enjoying jazz is simply too much work for me.
Good
I so want to be a jazz guy, but this does not do anything for me. So slow and plodding.
No se como existe esto y aun asi hay gente que elige poner Latin Mafia
Very broad range of emotions from song to song, but the first few lose that emotion as they move along. HIghlight: "I Surrender, Dear"
Average straightaways.
I can appreciate the talent and artistry but not the most enjoyable listen for me
I didn't "get it" as is the case with most of this style of Jazz... but then I went for a walk and I realized the problem is I don't live in a city. This is Jazz for walking around a city.
Will never understand jazz
Thelonious Monk. Best name in the game. This was a really good record that I don’t believe I’d heard before. Would love to find it on vinyl (best way to consume jazz imo). I didn’t love Pannonica, but otherwise this was a very enjoyable listen.
im not feeling jazzy
Any jazz record that sounds good, but doesn't do much for me. I think I prefer 60s jazz but I need to listen to more. Perfectly fine. 3 Heard before? No Owned: No, 104/391 (26%) Will I get: No
The first straight ahead jazz album on the list Brilliant Corners earns its prominence. It features a hard bop version of Monk with his usual one-of-a-kind compositions and piano phrasing. The killer set of musicians brings to life a set of Monk pieces that took his original sound to new places. Those songs make Monk one of my favorite artists. However, as a maker of albums, Monk tended to recycle from the same batch of two dozen tunes. I do not listen well enough to decide if this version of “Ruby, My Dear” surpasses one on an early album. The same could be said for "Straight No, Chaser”, “Epistrophy” and especially, “‘Round Midnight.” Since dozens of artists also covered Monk, repetition becomes a problem. Brilliant Corners escapes this fate with tunes that were original at the time (save for a cover of “I Surrender, Dear”) and did not get excessive future versions, at least in my catalog of Monk records. The title track exemplifies Monk’s greatness. A memorable phrase that the musicians return to, and stellar playing from all involved. Monk was the Keith Richards of jazz; able to compose unforgettable riffs and then give the space for his soloists to thrive. “Brilliant Corners”, “Bemsha Swing” and “Ba-Lue Bolivar, Ba-Lues-Are” show off this skill. To keep the Stones comparison going, each song could be “Can You Hear Me Knocking.” A fabulous theme followed by four-five minutes of wondrous work from Sonny Rollins, Ernie Henry, and on one song Clark Terry. Max Roach and Oscar Pettiford hold down the rhythm section, which is no easy feat considering Monk’s sense of time. Monk had a way with ballads that brought out their poignancy. His original “Pannonica” masterfully dances around in a gentle manner. His use of the celeste adds to the mood rather than become a distraction. “I Surrender, Dear” allowed Monk to shine on this solo piano piece. I love when Monk expanded beyond the trio and quartet format. Large ensembles enhanced both the groove and weirdness of his works. Brilliant Corners is among the best examples of his strengths.
Relisten for sure
I like some of the most famous Jazz songs, especially from the movie "Whiplash". This album, however, didn't have any songs that stood out to me and after the first one, everything just blended in together like a lo-fi playlist.
Loved this
Not a big jazz guy, need some vocals
maybe a little too jazzy for me. Worked great as background music though.
Good
Fun! Classic jazzy, a little sexy. Ba-lue reminds me of cruella de ville.
3/5
Okay.
It was.. okay. Basic, IMO.
Yep, not for me, thanks.
I get why people liked Monk but he really has never done it for me outside of the stuff with Coltrane.
Jazzecito estandar sabroson
C'est le genre de jazz que j'aime
einer der grossen Jazzer
I came to the realization long ago that while I know Jazz is a complex art form that opened the doors to what music is today, it’s just not a genre I’d willingly seek out and listen to. Much of it sounds the same to me and I get bored quickly.
Thelonious. 5
I'm not sure what my favorite Monk record or recording is, there being too many to account for, but this classic is up there. In literature, we're taught to consider the tragic, the comic, & the tragicomic, whereas in music we're told of the major & minor moods. Whether Monk is major or minor, I really don't have the chops to know, but what I can tell is that he is one of the few artists, maybe the only one, that combines the comic w/ the beautiful. His compositions & soloing are somehow hauntingly funny as well as riotously gorgeous: you don't know whether to laugh or cry, but the crying part isn't to do w/ tragedy. It's everything to do w/ his still inexplicable beauty. & on this one, you get a particularly Monkish Sonny Rollins, an utterly sweet gift.
Enjoyable listen, just not my favorite.
Ya like jazz? Because I sure do
Not my favorite Monk album. Too angular, maybe? Plodding at times? Not sure exactly why. Jack, I looked at my albums, and I have zero jazz albums from Mom. Seems I only took a few in the rock genre: Beatles, Stones, Yes, Tull… But I have listened to a fair amount of Monk through the years, especially when I was working on my grad school thesis project framed around the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies. And for whatever reason, this one’s not among my favorites. Sorry, 3 stars. PS, about J Timberlake (I didn’t realize at the time that your review notes had to go in first): I never knew how derivative of Stevie Wonder he was. Still didn’t like the album much, but - huh. Also: auto tune, blech.
No two jazz recordings are the same, but to me, a lot of jazz sounds too similar, especially when listening at home. I understand that that's by design, because it usually stipulates a very particular structure: there is a chorus played in unison, then each instrument takes a turn soloing, and then there's another chorus, or something like that. It emphasizes giving the players plenty of room to express themselves through improvisation. But I'm a bass player living in the 21st century. Do I want to listen to 15 minutes of the same chord structure and the same drum and bass pattern? Not particularly. I want to listen to something that grooves, and let's face it: the bass and drums are often sacrificed to make room for horns and piano. Sure they get their solos, but otherwise they're extremely limited (and often very boring). I am much more excited by modern fusions of jazz that incorporate elements like jazz harmony and improvisation, but also have the liberty to use the bass and drums to their fullest, and to explore rhythm and groove. Jazz really has to be listened to live for it to really put you under its spell, because it's all about individual expression through improvisation (I'm almost tempted to say it's egocentric in that way, but I think that's a step too far, although people do site competitiveness and difficulty of access as reasons why traditional jazz continues to fade in popularity)
Was (pleasantly) surprised to see this one pop up. The biggest problem in listening to it is that I have to try to overcome a childhood of hearing jazz (including Monk) in the background, and mostly tending to just tune it out (lol). Rick, I think you ended up with most of Mom's Monk albums? No, wait: actually, I just checked, and I have 6 of Mom's Monk albums (but not this one) - so maybe it was Miles (not Monk) that Rick got, and I got the Monk (?). (If so, then clearly I should be listening more often to the Monk albums that I have!) Anyway, sorry for the tangents. I recognize the names of all of the musicians on this album, except for Ernie Henry. And I think our parents met Clark Terry - we should ask (Grand)Dad for details. The cuts that I'm familiar with, from this album (though probably not these versions), are "Pannonica" and "Bemsha Swing." Even for jazz, Monk was more than just a little "out there," at least in terms of jazz from say around 1945 to 1965. And still today, this music is (or, anyway, sounds to me) kind of out there. And, too, I (still) have the problem of my mind tending to wander, when jazz (in general) and Monk (in particular) is playing. Also, there's definitely an apples and oranges challenge, in trying to rate this, when it's so different from pretty much everything else that we've listened to. I think I have to just give it 4 stars, and be done with it. Mom would probably have given in 5 stars, based on a deeper appreciation for the music (and she probably got more out of this than I do). When you're a musical omnivore (as I am), it comes at the price of have a diminished capacity for diving deep into a particular genre. Listening to this album today does, though, inspire me to go back to Mom's old Monk albums that I have. I recently estimated, however, that I have (roughly) 800 albums and 1200 CDs, so it's hard for me to devote careful, deep listening to any particular artist. Not to mention these darned albums every day. (I love it!)
I like the last three songs more than the first two. The first two are awkward, complicated, typical of Monk. The last three went perfectly with soup and buttered toast on this cloudy weekend morning. It feels a little unfair to not give 5 stars when this is far ahead of most rock and pop, especially considering how long ago this was released. But I can't honestly say I loved the whole record. I will say that Monk was brilliant
I like jazz and have even been through stages where its the thing I listen to the most. However I've never got Thelonious Monk. Just to jarring random, and spiky. Must have something about him to get the lineup on here to appear with him, but I dont get it.
Kind of the most Whiplash-esque drumming on a jazz album we've had so far? Probably speaks to my total unfamiliarity to say that though lol Was very pleasant, will not listen again, though I know Monk is a legend behind maybe Coltrane and Davis
Not it, just not my sort of thing 1.5
Good jazz. Not Thelonious Monk's best stuff. But good jazz.
J’apprécie beaucoup le jazz, mais j'avoue que cet album n’a pas vraiment résonné avec moi. J’avais l’impression d’écouter une session d’enregistrement plutôt qu’un album véritablement abouti.
My appreciation of jazz like this is pretty low. Sometimes the music makes sense, but most of the time I can’t predict where the musicians are going with the next few notes at all, and that is more stressfull than pleasant. Favourite parts: No
Sounds like jazz to me
I don't like jazz. Let us be clear about that. Miles Davis - both albums - missed me by a mile. Coltrane? No thanks. And then this upstart comes along and tries to play In The Mood by Glenn Miller on the piano and turns it into a cool swing riff for Bemsha Swing and I just have to applaud it. The whole thing is just weirdly compelling.
It is indeed brilliant.
nice, however not my cup of tea 6/10
⭐⭐⭐- Tycker inte det är dåligt men det flyger inte riktigt för mig. Funkar som bakgrundsmusik med det finns liksom inget sticky på det här albumet som fastnar, så om jag vill lyssna på jazz så blir det nog något annat, det blir en svag 3a. Bäst är Brilliant Corners, Bemsha swing
There’s a problem with hearing Thelonious Monk in 2026: we already know what Thelonious Monk sounds like. Those dissonant piano chords, the angular horn writing, the rhythmic dislocations, the hat, the whole visual and musical vocabulary have spent nearly seventy years becoming cultural shorthand for a particular idea of modern jazz. Put _Brilliant Corners_ on and it’s terribly easy to think, “Ooh, jazz,” settle into the historical importance of it all and stop hearing how peculiar this music actually is. I tried to listen past that this morning, and somewhere during the title track the whole record changed shape for me. Monk doesn’t sound like an elegant pianist. He stabs and paws at the keyboard. Individual notes seem to require separate negotiations. Chords are sometimes less played than deposited. A run can sound as though it has caught its foot on something and had to recover. Then I realised what it reminded me of: Jacques Tati. Specifically, Monsieur Hulot trying to operate a gate. Hulot knows perfectly well what a gate is, but somehow it squeaks, the return spring pings, something catches, he prods it, looks mildly surprised by the result and makes everything worse. The genius is that Tati has choreographed every apparently incompetent movement. Monk plays piano like clowning. Once I heard that, _Brilliant Corners_ stopped sounding like an imposing monument to difficult jazz and became an extremely funny, playful and eventually rather touching record. The title track is the most extreme example. It’s an irregular hexagon of a composition which constantly changes its gait. It stutters. It ambles. It struts. Then, with almost no warning, it breaks into a genuine sprint. Just as abruptly, everybody slows down again. At first it sounds chaotic. Then repeated figures start acquiring meaning. An arpeggio becomes a starting pistol: when Monk plays it, everybody runs. Max Roach takes essentially the same shape and turns it into rhythm. A blunt three-note figure slows everything down. The band reforms. The theme returns. By the end, you’ve learned how the monster walks. The famous fact that the musicians never managed a single faultless studio take suddenly makes perfect sense. The released master had to be assembled from different performances. But these are Sonny Rollins, Oscar Pettiford and Max Roach. Monk hasn’t exposed inadequate musicianship; he has created conditions difficult enough to make extraordinary musicians uncomfortable. That distinction matters to me because I have a fairly profound aversion to difficulty presented as a virtue in itself. Displayed virtuosity leaves me cold. “Look how complicated this is” is not an artistic argument. Monk does something quite different. Here are the conditions. Good luck. It occurred to me that _Brilliant Corners_ works rather like _Giant Steps_ in that the title describes the route through the music. Coltrane gives you those enormous harmonic strides. Monk gives you corners. Some of them have to be taken at a dead sprint. Then the album starts showing what else can be done with the same awkwardness. “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are” is almost avuncular. The ensemble passages climb through intervals that make the band sound as though it’s clambering uphill, then the saxophones are released and suddenly glide effortlessly around the changes. That contrast is important. These musicians can play beautifully and fluently whenever they like. Monk has deliberately made fluent musicians walk funny. The improvisational spaces are enormous. Rollins and Monk don’t sound as though they’re obediently taking their allotted bars; they sound like they’re having a conversation. Melody and counterpoint emerge from the improvisation itself. One idea changes another. Monk sometimes contributes a crooked little comment and then simply shuts up. Pettiford gets enough solo space to run out of easy ideas and trap himself, but doesn’t. Roach gets the same opportunity. There’s jeopardy in giving musicians that much room. A short solo lets a great player deploy vocabulary. Keep the door open long enough and eventually they have to find another sentence. Then the awkward unison motif returns and, wonderfully, it feels like an old friend. The tune hasn’t become less peculiar. You’ve become fluent in its peculiarity. “Pannonica” takes the same ungainliness somewhere completely different. It’s tenderness in clown shoes. The celesta pings where Monk’s piano normally thunks. The horns carry this sweet melody while Monk worries away at it underneath, picking at its edges. It reminded me of Cyrano de Bergerac: genuine romance and sweetness which cannot be separated from the enormous conspicuous protuberance attached to it. OH GOD THAT NOSE. But remove the nose and Cyrano isn’t Cyrano. Monk even becomes comparatively smooth during the soloing, but he never becomes conventionally graceful. He stumbles sweetly. During the quieter piano-and-celesta passages, the instruments seem to ramble around one another like two people dancing who occasionally step on each other’s toes. It’s touching because the clumsiness remains. He doesn’t adopt somebody else’s musical language in order to express tenderness. “I Surrender, Dear” strips everything back to Monk alone with a standard he clearly knows inside out. He handles it like one of those enormous Rubik’s cubes with 16 or 25 squares on each face. The song gets dismantled in real time. A phrase appears. Monk seems to inspect it. Nah-ah. That ain’t it. Turn the cube. Try something else. There you go. And then dismantle it again. Yet the remarkable thing is that “I Surrender, Dear” never actually disappears. You can see the song lying in pieces across the workbench throughout. Monk seems to make the process of thinking audible. Finally there’s “Bemsha Swing”, with one of the catchiest motifs on the record. The horns get it. They swagger through it. Monk throws planks at it. The track swings like hell, but Monk spends half his time playing what I can only describe as anti-swing: square attacks, awkward emphases, little gaps and blunt chords placed across all that forward momentum. He plainly knows exactly where the swing is. He just refuses to take the easy ride. “This would be more interesting if we had to ride a bike over a see-saw.” “Monk, you can do that. I got a solo to play.” And somehow that imaginary exchange gets closer to what I hear in this album than all the language about angularity and harmonic sophistication. Those things are certainly there. The music is fiendishly difficult. But they don’t explain the spirit of it. Clowning does. Clowning takes an action everybody understands and introduces unnecessary difficulty. Walking becomes falling over. Opening a gate becomes a mechanical catastrophe. Riding a bicycle acquires a see-saw. The apparent incompetence is only possible because the performer has extraordinary control. Monk does that to music. Want to play a blues? Put corners in it. Want to swing? Put obstacles across the groove. Want to play a beautiful melody? Make it stumble. Want to photograph the band for the album cover? Sit everybody in a ridiculous back-to-back circle so almost nobody faces the camera. And there’s Monk, looking out at us, amused as all hell. That cover suddenly made complete sense after hearing the record this way. It doesn’t say “important modern jazz masterpiece”. It says: you do realise this isn’t going to be a normal record, don’t you? Then “Bemsha Swing” ends with a triumphant unison chorus. After an entire album of deliberately awkward movement, everybody locks together. Of course they can. That’s the final joke. The thing nearly seventy years of reverence risks obscuring about _Brilliant Corners_ is the grin. The complexity is real, the musicianship is phenomenal and Monk’s musical thinking is extraordinary. But none of that requires solemnity. Sometimes the most interesting thing you can do with a perfectly functioning gate is make the bloody thing squeak.
Apparemment un monument du jazz, sorti en 1956, encore difficile à apprécier pour un néophyte du jazz 50s.
massa jazz
This was really nice. I think Justin Hurwitz pulled a lot from this for the La La Land jazz numbers/score.
Loved it.
It was nice jazz music which would be good for studying but not much else for me.
Nice music but nothing special. Not sure I understand the need for this specific album on this list. Worth listening to if you like this genre.
Not my thing but still cool
Previously unknown. Enjoyable.
J'ai passé un bon moment. J'apprécie le jazz sans être expert et ça semble être une sacré perf.
Un peu mid quand meme je trouve
Nice
(4/7) sounds Iike jazz
Very nice and fairly smooth and melodic but for the title track. I added “Bemsha” to my playlist.
YES!
starts out with some wonky notes super interesting, I love the different instrumentals!!!!! each part of the song really feels like a new turn in a story. ive always loved jazz, grew up with it sincee its my moms fav kind of music and we grew up going to the jazz festival in Toronto, this feels nostalgic and smooth, I love the storytelling of jazz. I think brilliant corners is my favourite piece. my mom would love this! I will def be playing it for her.
Brilliant Corners
Not normallyy kind of music but really quite good
Es wirkt wie eine hartnäckige Blase vor einem chaotischen Megamatsch – genial gedacht, aber schlichtweg lästig.
JAZZ! 👐 Not my go to genre, background music fine but I find it hard to really engage so can only rate it accordingly. 2.3
This type of jazz is definitely not for my untrained ear.
Sorry to the legend but not feeling this at all.
Wasnt for me unfortunately.
Jazz. Ok'ish but some of them a bit too old style (says the Boomer)
It’s obviously great jazz but I can’t get into it. That’s a me problem. Recognize its quality objectively.
Im having some troubles figuring out how many stars should I give because although it’s an amazing album featuring innovative play of Thelonious Monk i think that it’s just few tracks gathered together rather than a composition and although it’s an amazing album, there was a lot more lifechanging albums made during that era of jazz.
Pretty freaking good. Maybe not exactly my cup of tea, but I can tell it’s technically impressive despite my deficiency in any sort of technique similar.
bit jazzy, didn't really care for it
Ég fílaði þetta smá.
solides jazzalbum
Habt ihr Noten? Nein, probier es doch einfach mal.
Jazz
Loved this. Some fantastic Jazz. Really helped with the Friday morning wakeup routine.
5/10
I prefer this body of work over what I was first introduced to via live performance albums from Duke Ellington no offense
6/10
Great album!
4/5
This is how Len used to describe his 4th wife. 2.2 1/5 Brilliant Corners
Cool to get into some of the deeper Queen tracks. Very melodic. Freddie and Brian have their own unique sound.
"Pannonica" is the only song I'd revisit, but this was nice to listen to😊Thx
Jazz ain’t my thing
mr monk, thank you for the jam, but it was not quite my flavour
jazz normal, muito bem executado, mas nenhuma inovação
My kind of jazz. Melodic enough and not too frantic. Was probably the first jazz album I listened to properly so extra points.
Classic jazz innit
Nice enough. Not my bag, but can see its' tuneful appeal. Not sure which corners anyone's on about but they sure are brilliant. Probably.
Nope
I can dig it, but this was not one of the more enjoyable jazz records on this list for me.
Not a jazz fan, thus not a fan of this album either. But it wasn’t noisy and annoying, as most jazz albums, but relaxing, and it made me bop my head from time to time
Solid 3, a little weird here and there but a nice break for the usual albums.
Enjoyable jazz album
Interesting album featuring some stand-out jazz musicians. At times the piano feels discordant with the rest of the band, which must have been radical in 1957. But overall quite listenable, if a bit difficult in patches.
Slightly less accessible than the Miles Davis album but not wholly enjoyable.
great playing on all instruments, with a good mix of smoother and rougher jazz. overall an enjoyable listen, it kept my attention better than most other records similar to this.
What a style he had. Not a big piano lover but T. Monk was as kool as Miles. Might go get me a beret and some hip glasses.
It's jazz. I feel like you know if you like jazz or not before you listen to this. If you do, you'll like it. If you don't, why are you here? I thought it was fine, but I'm not a huge jazz guy. But for 45 minutes, I nodded my head along with it. So it did that.
It's pretty accessible jazz, easy to listen to. Here and there it has some hooks, like towards the start of Bemsha Swing. But in between there's a lot of meandering and improv, as you'd expect. Altogether it's not quite as memorable as Kind of Blue.
Based on the other reviews on this site, I had presumed that this was going to be some freestyle noise jazz, but in reality it felt more like something that you’d have on in the background of a high end lounge. Good, but jazz still largely eludes me, unfortunately.
Jazz
that's jazz!
This cat might have the most badass jazz name ever. Outstanding album, the first song has some fairly atonal things going on but it smooths out and becomes a nice listen. I went through several times and really enjoyed it. I Surrender, Dear was the standout track for me. Like most jazz in my opinion, it's much better in the evening.
Incredible album. I hadn’t heard this before and immediately saved it to my favorites. Great for work and dancing
Much of this jazz and freeform music sounds similar.
I'm not sure I'll ever really understand Jazz which is a shame. But I did quite enjoy this even if I probably dont fully appreciate what makes it so good. 3.75* Rounded up to 4*
momk
4 - great album
I'm not a big fan of jazz, but this album is smooth and satisfying. I especially like the drum flourishes and solos.
Not for me, jazz always sounds off key.
It started like it was going to be interesting. Slightly out of tune, slightly funky. Somehow ahead and behind of its time at once... Then it just went on. And on. At times it sounded like one of those cat-treat-pianos - I recommend videos of cats getting treats instead of this album.
Jazz is jazz, and while it’s not usually something I seek out, I never find that I dislike (most of) it when I hear it. It’s not a bad album, just not a part of my normal listening habits. 3/5.
This was the best jazz I have heard yet. It had energy, it had variety, it had multiple instruments, and it kept my attention.
Ballerrrrrr
Really difficult because I can appreciate what's happening here, but I really do not like saxophones at the best of times, let alone when they are everywhere. All of the time. With music that is made on the fly. Sorry.
i love jazz :)
muito bom
This was an especially hard album to review. You could feel the labor that went into it, and not always in a good way. It often felt like it was being painfully pushed into existence, but all in the name of a vision you could tell was absolutely worth seeing through. And my GOD Max Roach is the GOAT. Anyway definitely an album worth being challenged by and returning to so you can find little gems you missed the first time
It's good but further proof that I'm not a jazz fan
ok
I'm a big fan of Thelonious but I'm not aware of this album in particular. I recognize all of these tracks by title, however, the way my brain works, I don't think I'd be able to hum the tune of any of them without a little help. I'm definitely anticipating loving this album, and will likely add this to my list of albums to listen to again. Yup, I'm loving this. Thank you, 1001 Albums Generator, for helping me add another Monk album to my library.
Really enjoyed it, jazz is growing on me!
Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (1957) On Day 203, I experienced what might be the most intense, in-depth analysis I have ever done against an album. This record completely puts aside traditional expectations of what jazz is all about to create an obscure, highly complex sound, built on layers of instruments going in parallel, opposite directions to each other a structural chaos perfectly exemplified by the title track. The second track, "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are," maintained a clearer melody, yet you can tell it was meticulously pieced together after multiple grueling takes. Despite the exhausting effort it took to master, the chemistry on display is fantastic and incredibly enjoyable. In the vast sea of obscure experimentation across this project, "I Surrender, Dear" stood out as a moody, solo piano piece driven by Monk's distinct touch. "Pannonica" beautifully showcased Monk’s multi-instrumentalist talent, starting with a unique blend of celesta and piano that set a magical, guiding tone for the rest of the track. Everything finally came together in unison on the closer, "Bemsha Swing." Sonny Rollins' chemistry on saxophone with Monk was stellar as he fought to match Monk's unpredictable energy, backed by stellar drums and a rock-solid, constant bass. I used to call myself a "jazz head" before my ears were truly put to the test by this record. I don't know if I officially succeeded or failed, but I know this quest was highly entertaining. A flawless 5/5.
Liked this one! I know so little about jazz that I'm sure I sound as ignorant as I truly am, but I do need my jazz to have some melody and swing in order to be accessible to a dolt like me. This one is in a good spot -- some challenging sounds and sequences but all of it grounded in enough melody that I can hang on.
Love whatever the monk does
This was a good jazz album.
Feels like I should be sitting in a smoky dim lit lounge somewhere in Harlem with my Fedora pulled low, drinking an Old Fashion and snapping my fingers inside of clapping.
My favorites are Bemsha Swing and Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are I think. It's hard for me to rate Jazz or have much to say about it in a sense - I would have never guessed this came out in the 50s with how modern it sounds. Though for me this is a one time listen or background I don't think I could imagine myself casually wanting to revisit this album often which is why i would rate it the way I do.
Great!
2 jazz albums in one week! What a treat Big fan of this one, enjoyed the varied compositions of this and it balances really nicely the ‘messy’ unstructured side of jazz with a smoooooth flow. Thank you Thelonious
No notes! (Or, you know, lots of them, but no criticism.)
The ensemble songs here are some of the best stuff ever
It was a fine jazz album, but I've heard better.
some good jazz
Pure gold in aural form.
Listened Before? N Really good experimental Jazz. Haters gonna hate. This was great. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
Groovy and loved the bass. I enjoyed the sound but not something I would listen too usually.
Decent album. Ive only had rock/alt rock so far so its nice to have something different.
bemsha swing was by far the best
Shit like this is why I can let Miles Davis get away with a two-star rating.
jazz, bipolar people write good music, change my mind.
Technically astute, but it did not bring jazz joy to me. Probably required listening, but not something I want to revisit.
I was looking forward to this but it didn’t deliver, why do I always get albums like this when I have a headache?
I don't like jazz
This was decent for jazz. Not generally something I’d listen to though. (3)
I don't know if this is good or not, but I just don't like Jazz. 2 stars or D.
Coolio
I liked it, but I'm not smart enough to say why.
This is exactly what I think of when I imagine piano/sax jazz in a smoke-filled bar. I appreciate it greatly, but it does not move me.
Enjoyable!
As I’ve commented on other similar albums on this list. Decent enough, but I have not hit my smooth jazz phase yet.
I wanted to enjoy the music more I just couldn't get into it.
This is gorgeous. Thank you for introducing me to it.
At first I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this album since Monk is a bit more avant garde in his style, but I was proven wrong. The album is full of complex sounds that shouldn’t work but come together to create a very unique listening experience
Enjoy this classic piano driven jazz album. Good to listen to in the background. Not every track is engaging in some way? Still, very good album.
Cool, but not something I'd really listen to. 2.5
Pleasant, without the shrill of trumpet that tends to stress me out!
3rd album
I love jazz albums like this one. Plus the cover is iconic.
Solid jazz.
Fundamental moment in music
different. jazz. piano.
Pretty solid, nice music
Went on a real trip with this, bits are totally disjointed, and then come back together and have some incredible parts and incredible riffs. I started listening to this at work and found the discordant slightly frantic piano at the starting track just too much to take and concentrate at the same time, despite jazz being thought of sometimes as background music.. this is not! It's weird to even think of this with one name on the cover too as it's clearly a team effort with some incredible players, Max Roach's druming is probably my absolute favourite part of this. Giving this a solid 7.5, probably will be an 8 on next listen. It went down half a point because of the absolutely annoying af habit of streaming services to add all the bonus tracks into one album, adding all of those tracks to one is just too much.
Really listenable jazz, loved it.
Wasnt in the mood for jazz when this came up but appreciate it .
The creator of this list really does love jazz. Just sounds like more hotel lobby background music to my heathen ears
No ei
I'm not a big fan of jazz, but the piano is top notch.. Also, my baby really seemed to enjoy this so I'll bump the rating for her.
I like it. Great background music. I don't know enough about jazz to say much more than that.
great hard bop sessions. I like the story how the title track was too difficult to play and needed to be assembled from a variety of recording sessions.
Normally I really like jazz, and I also like Monk's work, but this felt a little too atonal and irregular for me. The piano was amazing as always, but it was just too angular and awkward for me to get really comfortable with it. Still an excellent record, I'm chalking this one up to me not being cultured enough to appreciate this.
Nice and jazzy but a bit too disjointed for me
Good stuff on the right day but I’m more preferential to a mellow sound when it comes to jazz.
I'll describe myself as a casual jazz fan. I can see where for the real heads there might be some more depth and substance here, especially with more context around the artist. For me though, this was a fine listen but nothing more than that.
Great album, Monk rules. I listened to this while driving and it didn't quite curb my road rage, and I know that's a me problem, but since I'm American, I'm blaming someone else and one point off. Highly recommended.
Classic and important album that helped define "modern" jazz at the time. Despite 60+ years, it still maintains such innovation in its approach.
Haven’t had too many jazz albums so excited for another one. Not sure I’ve ever listened to this, even though I’ve end encountered Theolonius Monk before. Just clean jazz from an era where it was all interesting. This feels like a quintessential jazz sound to me at times. Improvisational in a way that the performers are each given room to shine. The piano and saxophone have some great moments. A solid steady rhythm section. Not a lot to really complain about here. It’s all very solid but in the end it just didn’t wow me. It’s a bit too meandering at times, not always reeling in the solos quick enough. This is a solid 3. I like a lot of it. I think I’ve heard jazz I like more, but perfectly fine with this album.
Oooh....will this be the album that finally makes me appreciate jazz??? No. On to the next!
Just not my thing!
Ya like jazz?? You're gonna love this. I kinda like jazz, so I only kinda loved this. Good but like can I listen to something else? BTW Thelonious Monk is a name that goes hard.
he is very skilled but it's for the purist
My friend could probably tell you more about the nuances of this jazz album, but I thought this was delightful. It was complex, yet inviting and fun. The piano went hard (obviously, he’s a pianist), but the drums were what really made it fun for me. This was up there with Miles Davis for me, a solid 4/5
Really liked. Fan of bop music and this album has great musicians. I would give it a 3.5 if possible but will go with a 4 as I really think it’s about a 3.7. Perhaps, because this is only my 4th album on this app I am being less discerning and swaying towards the positive.
I have limited experience with Jazz, and even less with Monk, but the album was enjoyable. It challenged me in a few places with the louder more free jazz parts, but it had enough of the vibe and cool I like to keep my listening.
8 / 10
Dnf. Another jazz album and its okay; not my thing.
Pretty good
Jazz.
Amazing album. Such complex compositions but an over arching sense of melody. Until those dissonant piano chords…
Monk at the top of his game. Legendary.
Niet mijn favoriete soort jazz. Misschien als ik er veel tijd in zou steken, dat ik de briljante van de muziek beter zou begrijpen.
niet top, niet slecht
Het is relatief makkelijk om jazz te maken die goed klinkt (het is easy-listening muziek voor een rede). Het is zo veel moeilijker om jazz te maken die daadwerkelijk memorabel is en zich apart zet van al de rest. Is dit een fijn album om naar te luisteren? zeker. kan ik mij nog iets van detail van de nummers herinneren? zeker niet. voelt soms meer als jam dan als plaat
Thelonious Monk is always good and Sonny Rollins on sax is a nice bonus.
Liked
Monk is a peculiar pianist. He’s melodies seem catchy and tuneful enough, but there’s something a bit off about them. A few extra notes that don’t belong, an added or remove beat here or there. He plays with melody, harmony, and time in unique and challenging ways, but at the same time the music stays accessible. There’s a few great tracks on her (1, 2, 5), with the others being just fine to me. My default reaction to a lot of jazz is between a 3 and 4, where this one certainly falls for me. It’s only after a bit of time and a few more listens that I really know where I stand. So this one is a 3 for now (enjoyable, but doubt I’ll go back frequently) that could be subject to change.
can’t go wrong!
I’m not cool enough for real jazz
This strain of jazz is always something I'm more likely to respect than actively enjoy. It was chaotic enough to hold my attention for a listen, but I was very much struggling with it towards the end.
Albums like this remind me of my elder brother who sadly is no longer with us. He loved his jazz. Especially stuff like this. Despite his attempts to convert me into jazz I was starting out on my prog music journey so thought we had nothing in common. I didn’t realise then that prog has a lot of jazz influences. Only on this realisation was I able to stomach albums like this. I still cannot say that I am a jazz fan but always happy to hear albums like this. It is over 40 years now since I lost my brother so many memories of him are fading but jazz records like this always turn my mind towards him. 3/5 21/6/26
Was happy when it ended which is not normally a good sign
weird and great!
dooobry jazzzik nikuś lubi
Jazz brilliance. I can’t say more than that.
Not forme
1/5. Música de ascensor
I don’t think I listened to this at the right moment because I felt a bit distracted while listening. I think I would appreciate the quality of the music more at a different time. Or maybe I’m simply not into jazz? I’ll definetely listen to it more in the future to try and figure that out.
I am a jazz beginner; maybe someday I will acquire a taste for it.
Pretty good jazz, but just not my vibe
I am sure I have started to play this before and been put off by the opening title track. Feeling obligated to give it at least a but more I listened to the whole album. And while it won’t become a favorite I better appreciate Monk’s contributions now and see why this rates inclusion in 1001
el concepto de 5 canciones, 45m en total, ni una sola lyric y lo que vendria a ser una muy linda música de restaurante no es lo mas appealing to me 6/10
Brilliant Corners couldn't be more chill. Perfect for a relaxing listen.
Generally not partial to Monk but I enjoyed this a bit more than usual.
Beautiful jazz
(Light 8/10) Thelonius Monk, one of the world's greatest jazz composers and pianists, with his third album Brilliant Corners. Brilliant Corners is one part mindblowing masterpiece, and one part improvisational Hard Bop goodness. The opening title track took about 12 takes to get right. The composition was so intricate and complex, the feat of recording such a track is one to be celebrated. The song itself is impeccable. For a music nerd and or a musician, this song is amazing to behold. The time signature changes, the intricate layering and melding of each respective musician, it's absolutely wonderful. The hard work absolutely paid off in spades for this recording. The rest of the album is pretty good too, though nothing as insane or ambitious as the first track. "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" is the longest song here, clocking in at over 13 minutes. It certainly feels like your good old jazz jam. With each musician having their time in the spotlight across this track's runtime, it's definitely a great song to get lost in. Side B contains a few more tracks, the lovely "Pannonica", the beautiful solo piano ballad "I Surrender, Dear" and the rousing "Bemsha Swing" which contains some of the best drumwork on this album. Now, while these tunes are rather good, the overall quality in comparison to the first track is night and day in my opinion. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing mind you, it just leaves me wanting more from this record. I feel in some of the later tracks, the ideas could have been explored just a bit more, or expanded on even. I totally understand that by the time this record was done being recorded, these musicians probably didn't want to touch their respective instruments for a long time. I hear the recording sessions were very arduous. So all that being said, I think this is a solid offering from the Jazz Great. Is it the most exciting or revolutionary jazz album in the grand scheme of things? Outside of the title track I would argue no, but it absolutely deserves to be in one's collection if not just for "Brilliant Corners" and hearing some of the jazz world's master musicians come together to make an entertaining jazz record.
Not my favorite Monk record, but still pretty solid.
Once again I am confront by being incompatible with Jazz music. I salute you dear Thelonious but your music just isn’t my taste, no matter how many times I have to listen to it.
It's jazz
I really wanted to like this but I found it a bit of a slog to be honest. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are seemed to be in danger of turning into Cruella DeVille’s theme, and the whole album ended up making me feel like John Thompson was going to pop up and do his Jazz Club catchphrase.
Some great Jazz
This is my first Thelonious Monk album, although I have listened to him occasionally through other jazz artists. I also enjoy some of his more famous songs such as "Straight No Chaser" and "Round Midnight". I've always found his style to be interesting. I enjoyed this album.
Monk killing it as always
This was not maybe my “kind of jazz”, but I don’t have the vocabulary to articulate the differences well enough. Still clearly brilliantly played and arranged.
It was groovy in some bits, and then I felt like I was entering psychosis
Some nice splashy jazz
Beautiful
I hate jazz
This reminded me of the Phantom Tollbooth and not in a good way.
I liked this jazz album better than most, the songs didn’t sound quite as chaotic as other jazz, but the songs were pretty similar and repetitive.
They’re very good musicians. Don’t really like the music though.
Quite enjoyed having this on in the background whilst working but I don’t ‘get’ what makes Thelonious Monk one of the all time greats. Maybe I’m not cultured enough.
Så mycket bra instrumentalister. Men för mig är det lite för svårt. Det svänger inte riktigt. En fyra
No
I have a feeling rowan is not going to like this one
I enjoyed it enough
Ain’t no mingus bingus
Brilliant 🎹
My dad played this all the time growing up.
Alrighty, another one of these short albums with long tracks! There seems to be a lot of them on this list. The title track is definitely a nice smooth jazz piece. No gripes with it, it’s quite nice. Nice horn, nice piano, but I don’t really know how really to talk about it. Ba-Lue… had some really cool bass work the the end. Some of the tune reminded me of Cruella de ville. Panomica has some very cool percussion and chimes. I didn’t really like Bemsha Swing. The music was ok but it really made my brain hurt in a way I wasn’t expecting. 3/5 ⭐️. Again, decent music, just not for me and pretty boring, 160/1089
En general todo el álbum se siente pesado con un sentimiento de enojo, indignación, impotencia, con bases intensas y poderosas. Su mensaje es claro y contundente, todo el álbum me parece muy coherente, lo disfrute.