Reviews (page 4 of 12)
Why was this 10 hours long
Really enjoyed this one
Very enjoyable jazz
Not my favorite Monk album, but worth a listen.
Bom jazz?
Simultaneously accessible and adventurous jazz, with great performances across its often demanding material.
Listened while reading, pretty good!
Jazz doesn't get much better than this! Famed American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk leads his tight-knit ensemble (including fellow great Sonny Rollins and his impressive tenor sax work) through five momentous tracks full of tuneful rhythm and feel. Jazz often has a knack for being improvisational and loose, but 'Brilliant Corners' is surprisingly focused for a jazz record. The songs succinctly roll into each other, and everything sounds tasteful and full of character. 'Brilliant Corners' is a great summation of Monk's brilliance as an arranger and, not unlike Miles Davis, brings oodles of cool to the jazz genre. Best songs: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Luez-Are, Pannonica
Probably my favorite jazz pianist
4.1 2x
Good jazz album.
A good classic jazz
I don't really like jazz, which is to say I don't really *get* jazz. It's all kind of flighty and truly and a bit hard to listen to. But not this one. This one is pretty goddamned good.
Experimentellt och bra spelat, men mycket är inte så värst spännande att lyssna på? Gillar de lugnare låtarna mer ärligt talat, de får albumet till en fyra :)
I can dig it. Can't believe I went this long without knowing cruella de ville was a rip off (song #2)
Beautiful jazz
Sophisticated, cool. Lots of depth. 4.4 stars.
Max Roach’s DNA must be injected into every living drummer today.
Love Monk. Solid 4, I think.
Very cool vibe.
Groovy jams, man, I can dig it. Fun album, well recorded. Definitely a jazz classic.
Great jazz
Exceptional Jazz.
Das Problem beim Jazz ist immer, ich habe keine Ahnung ob das jetzt besonders gut oder scheiße ist. Ich mag einfach dieses Gedudel manchmal. So wie hier.
Thelonious Monk, legendary creature - monk Amazing stuff, props for production as well. You could hear the guy humming along with the piano. First song starts out with straight up Gentle Giant prog material. Last song is an absolute banger
Always such great jazz by Thelonious - punchy without being overbearing, highly enjoyable
really like this one a lot, definite go-to for a day like the rainy sunday I listened to it on
Agréable!
i like this way more than back at the chicken shack
First listen I was unfamiliar with this particular album of Monk's, and I'm so glad it came across my path. I already knew I liked his music, and this album only served to solidify my appreciation of his unique style. This is an album I am probably going to listen to many times—already I have replayed the first 30 seconds of Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are at least six–seven times just to figure out what's happening in the last four bars of the head. I did the math—because it's fun, of course—and instead of four groups of four, Monk splits the last 16 beats into groups of three and two: 3 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 16. Second listen Monk's solo on Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are is a good example of his unique style. He uses tritones to add tension and dissonance in his improvised melodies, straying from the key just long enough for it to almost feel uncomfortable before bringing us home again. He also moves between registers of the piano with whole-tone scale runs, briefly obscuring the key each time. I also really liked Monk's use of simple voicings and "walking" lines while comping for the other solos. --- I also wanted to include a comment from the YouTube video for the title track: "Haven't heard this album for several years, and yes it is indescribably brilliant. Probably have a few hundred listenings racked-up between my ears, and hearing it just now after a long break has blown my head clear off, reduced my body to a puddle, and sent my soul to Godknowswhere." – @TommysHandle, YouTube user.
I played a french horn piece in university called Blues and Variations for Monk. I must've listened to at least some Thelonious Monk to prepare for that, but I have no recollection. Listening to this now, I can absolutely hear the aspects of Monk's style that the piece was drawing from. He makes use of interesting intervals and harmonies that are a bit dissonant, but the overall sound is still quite consonant. I really enjoyed this album. 8.5/10.
More jazz. As mentioned before I don’t know what to tell you about Jazz. It’s good though.
I thought this was a really pretty and cool album
I Surrender Dear - bro is PLAYING that piano Pure dinner party vibes, getting this on vinyl
Piano and sax. I can't get enough. This a great, and makes me partially regret getting a Monk collection, instead of individual albums. Good stuff.
(81/100)
Solid classic jazz album. Still waiting on Tabitha Soren to let me know who "the lonliest monk" is, though. 4 stars.
Fun one! The recording is very nice and makes you feel like you are in the room with them, we hear each player very well and they all play very nicely. Definitely heard some of those melodies before, although I don't know enough about Jazz history to know whether this is the "referred" or the "referrer" :P
Really good! Listened to while journaling! Loved Pannonica!
Slowly growing on me. At first, I really didn't like it but I think I've changed my mind.
Monk! Not my favorite, but it's a great listen.
How can one not enjoy the melodic offerings of T.Monk?? A treat amongst the ear-dribble so often selected on this list.
sublime. can't find any faults here he's effortless the music just wafts through like it's meant to be there
Solid jazz album.
Some pretty tasty jazz!
Overall pretty good, i'm not a huge jazz fan but I'm a casual jazz listener. I think the 2nd half of the album was more interesting and I'm going to go with a 4 overall
A solid, well-rounded jazz album. Nothing to complain about here, just smooth, skillful playing throughout.
Way ahead of his time. Monk is brilliant and oh so very cool. There are bumps, Monk is not always fully up technically to his vision and the band feels fragmented at times, but it's a great album despite those flaws.
i like itttttt. idk what else to say. it DOESN’T sound schmaltzy the way a lot of this piano jazz tends to sound (in my opinion). i wonder what the distinction is between this and, say, the bill evans album we listened to….?
very lovely!
Monk may not be my favorite jazz pianist of all time, but there’s no denying his mastery of the form. For some reason, there’s always just been something about his playing that doesn’t grip me and capture my attention like, say, Oscar Peterson or Keith Jarrett. That being said, this was a joy to listen to, and any record with Monk and Sonny is a damn good record in my book. Fave songs: - Brilliant Corners - Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are - I Surrender Dear - Bemsha Swing
I really enjoyed this album. I love the clarinet and mood of it.
I LOVE JAZZ
ooooh that jazz. feels like I need to let it cook more
Cool cat jazz, feels like driving a taxi in 1970 NYC. Groovy.
I don’t know why I don’t listen to more jazz. I thought I’d like this and I do. Edgy dissonance, and unexpected rhythmic choices contrasts more conventional melodies. Spiky piano, sultry rhythm, but sax playing isn’t especially stand out to me. Stand out tracks: Brilliant Corners. Those first few bars are mind blowing
Nice Jazz, one point off because it's so short. 4/5
God I love me some ‘50s jazz, especially Monk. Just a classic. 4/5
good reading music
Didn’t get to listen to the whole thing but great group and Monk has a sense for the piano unlike anyone else. Enjoyed it.
Listened as background at work. Liked it would like to listen again
Niiiiice. Wonderfully performed and produced record. Not necessarily the sort of stuff I'd listen to on the daily, but really great. Favourite tracks: the whole thing.
Love it! Another great album this week. Good background fodder, plainly plonk piano and Sonny on sax. Fave tracks: “Bemsha swing” and “brilliant corners”.
I like jazz. So this is getting four stars. It's just good, calming listening. The most challenging thing about this album are the track names. Top tracks: "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are," "Bemsha Swing," "Brilliant Corners"
It's a solid jazz album. In context it's tough to see what might make this album better than a lot of other jazz albums from 1955-1965. However, it was fairly early in that span.
Exceptional sessions. Love Roach and how he holds a groove. No wonder it’s on the list.
3.5
I don’t know much about jazz, but I think this was good?
I’m not even sure how to comment on this album except to say that I loved it. The musicianship is brilliant (no pun intended). I was entranced and wanted to dance and romance throughout the album. I’ll definitely revisit this one often. My actual rating is 4.5 as it’s nearly a perfect album.
Fav: Bemshaw Swing
Very engaging album
Wildly ahead of its time. Along with The Shape of Jazz to Come and Kind Of Blue its post-bop but way more controlled than Coleman and way more unexpected than Davis this is the pinnacle of how far you can bend western song structures. Not sure how I feel about some of the solos in Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are. There's a style of bass playing that justifies a solo (see Scott LaFaro in the Live at the Village Vanguard album on this list) but while Pettiford is a great player just playing out the rhythm doesn't really do it for me. Roach is a bit better in the follow up but the song is dragging a bit by then. Bemsha Swing is the highlight. A slightly more conventional number that lets you really watch Roach and Monk go at it.
71/100. A solid jazz record. While not the most innovative for its era, it still stands as a quality listen.
I absolutely don't know enough about Jazz to rate this. But I enjoyed it, so it gets a 4
You call a mf Thelonious and he's gonna make great jazz, you know this to be true. 3.5* (aware that's a little low but trade jazz like this doesn't necessarily move me although it's technically impressive)
Good jazz album and great for the fall season. Hard to compare this to the Bill Evans trio album that came before this in the queue. Monk is legendary.
at least a 4
Great album needed to get into the mood for it ended up finding it was way better when I was alone. It was later at night. Parts of the music were very soothing to me but other parts just cause anxiety, which is not unique to my man monk, but all jazz and classical music becomes a bit overwhelming for me. Art should invoke emotion and artistry. Here is phenomenal. Nature of the genre is to take you on a journey and for me I like when that journey is a little bit open ended and has room to breathe but with jazz it’s like reading Lord of the rings instead of a fun quick Bukowski read. There’s some other monk albums that I would also like to see on the list.
Do you like Jazz? Cause if you don’t then you probably won’t enjoy this. I love a good bit of jazz and this just a gorgeous listen. It did get a bit background music at times but that’s probably cause I do most of my listening to these at work. Very nice!
Raw talent here, but the jazz is a bit too aimless
Álbum de Jazz muito legal e nem feito. Versekeys x Celest Ultra-Sense Planet.
nice jazz
no sé nada de jazz solo se que este es un albumazo y me gustó mucho
I liked it more the more attention I paid, which I sometimes find it hard to do with jazz.
Some lovely instrumental, good vibes and nice melodies. 4 stars
Melodic, fun, smart. Just really well done all around. Making 45 minutes of not only enjoyable and engaging jazz is hard enough but some of these parts are pretty singable earworms. Love it. Title track is the highlight but the piano work on i surrender is probably the standout.
на удивление с кайфом послушала альбом! длительность отличная, музыка зажигательная, все понравилось насколько мне может нравиться джаз)
First listen I didn't know what to make of this one, so I tried again the next day, and paid a little more attention. It's a little less smoothe than some of his contemporaries' great albums, like Miles Davis and Coltrane. But once it gets going it's on strong.
7/10
Not a jazz conoisseur, but pleasing.
Loved it
I'd not heard this particular release. I found it quite enjoyable. Monk is a genius, though maybe I'm using that label excessively in these brief reviews. I suppose I feel obligated to talk about my opinion of the artist as a whole because I don't know if this will be the only Monk release out of the 1000 albums in this bunch. This is jazz in a nearly pure form. 'Bemsha Swing' is a standout.
This one has some, but not all, of my favorites.
I really appreciate jazz pianists. They make dissonance sound so pretty. Whenever I slam on a keyboard, it just sounds like shit. This is the kind of album best listened to between dusk and 3 AM with an adult beverage, preferably served up in a cold, but not icy, glass. It's a classy and cool album without being pretentious. (Although, it is jazz, so some people will assume it's pretentious on that fact alone.) It's pretty simple in its instrumentation, although the bells are a fun add on "Pannonica". But I honestly would have loved a little more variation. And other than my favorite song, none of the songs really ever felt great or stood out. Favorite Song(s): Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
I remember being pretty impartial towards this album back when I first heard it. With Monk and Rollins being such legends in their own right, I was maybe expecting something more adventurous. And I think I felt that way with the first track this time around as well; it felt scattered, and with no solid motif to hold the whole thing together, I caught my mind drifting throughout, sort of like that first listen all those years back. Luckily, what followed with much better than I remembered. 'Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are' has that strong motif I was looking for, and the Thelonious-piano presence is undeniable. 'Pannonica' is a bit more somber in its presentation, especially with that almost ominous celesta intro - I love the way Monk's rainy chords backdrop the sax solo in that first half. And honestly, the Monk exclusive 'I Surrender, Dear' was just as good; there's so much drama behind his wayward playing here - the sound of confused heartbreak. A really fun Jazz album, one that I'm happy to have revisited. It has given me a newfound love and respect for this remarkable jazz pianist.
Was already on my list of albums to buy. Really good.
Great jazz.
Great jazz
Not really my vibe, but good
Enjoyed this tremendously. I could see this being a five with more time listening. Brilliant.
Really good album, I ended up listening to it twice back to back. While I did enjoy the album it was missing something, and I can’t pinpoint what it is, for me to give it top marks. Top Track - Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
A very nice, but short jazz album
Dope
Good nice jazz
Alright so i know almost nothing about jazz so take whatever I say from here on out with a grain or two of salt. But I liked this very much. Its so fascinating to hear some of the best players in the world basically write a song on the fly. I know you start with some standard and build up from that foundation but I dont know the standards so it might as well be from scratch. They just go on runs that feel like they were practiced and rehearsed but its not. Some smart people for sure. Monk plays the keys so artfully and the others who I dont know sorry play their instruments with just as much skill. My favorite part is whatever mallet instrument, that I'll just call a xylophone even though it might not be, on pannonica are incredible. It tickles me to no end. What a great part. And everything else just flows well start to finish. I may know nothing but im happy all the same.
This classic jazz album falls neatly into what is known as Hard Bop, which I believe is a more technical take on Bebop, with longer and more complex solos. Monk is one of the greats of jazz piano and this is his most famous record, and for good reason. Great tunes and peerless musicianship. This list could have used even more jazz classics such as this one. Key tracks: Brilliant Corners Bemsha Swing
Fucking jazz, brother. Hell yeah
classic
This was great especially that last track
Monk and Rollins I mean iconic duo. Bemsha Swing is one of all time faves and this arrangement in its early form is powerful 4/5
Джазът записван 50те е много добър
Another solid jazz album discovered through this list. The saxophones were unreal, defo one to come back to.
Excellent musicianship! Really enjoyed. Will be returning.
Kul lyssning. Hundra procent bakgrundsmusik men mysig bakgrundsmusik. Känns som klichébilden av jazzskiva men just därför funkar. Det lite skeva i ljudbild och kvalitet hjälper till. Nostalgi-bait men bra sån. Vill höra igen: Ja Bästa spår: d - Pannonica D2 - Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are Betyg: D - 7 av 10 / 4 av 5 D2 6 av 10 / 3 av 5
I was expecting to like this more, but it's still pretty good.
Nice 1957 early Monk album with Sonny Rollins
Some songs take a minute to get going, but overall solid
I’m not qualified to differentiate between good and bad jazz, but I liked this.
This was new to me - and pretty cool.
The piano is off just enough that you don't know where it's going next, but not so much that it sounds like there's no skill involved. This is definitely what future jazz albums and composers looked to for inspiration and to see how playing with time signatures can lead to impressive works.
Okay I kinda like jazz
I'm not a huge jazz guy, but there are a few artists that I know I enjoy. Reinhardt, Parker, Mingus. Glad to add Monk to that list. You don't have to listen super hard and try to understand all the complicated things he is doing. Just leave it playing and enjoy the vibes. Try not to think too much, he is doing the thinking for you.
This is a great album!
My depressed teenage self would’ve loved this album
Delightful stuff - great tunes, players - inimitable piano (& celeste!).
I like Monk, but for some reason, he's not a "go-to" jazz figure for me. This album has me thinking maybe I should change that.
Solid jazz album.
first time hearing thelonious, great intimate sounding jazz. first and last tracks are defs standouts
Интересная музыка для фона, буду слушать ещё. 6 из 10.
A smooth record
I already know I love this record. I’ve always been attracted to Bemsha Swing. It starts with that great dissonant intro of Brilliant Corners and drags me in. It’s not quite a perfect album because it doesn’t hold my attention the whole time, but I really like it.
Enjoyed this. Fusion of styles and jazz styles I thought sounded great on this. One for the jazz heads
♫ Listening to "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" by Thelonious Monk (Brilliant Corners (Remastered), 1957) ♫
3.5
One of my fave jazz records. 4.5, but will round down to 4 on site.
I'm actually going to raise my review just a smidge to give it a full four. I'm warming up to it a little bit. Still the stand out track to me is still "Bemsha Swing", but I was really diggin' "Ba-Leu Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" this time around. Still the title track and "Pannonica" were still a bit difficult for me to totally get, but just like last time, I at least respect them quite a bit (8.1) ★★★★
- sehr entspannte Jazz Platte, derbe moody, klingt für meine Ohren toll produziert und ingesamt einfach stimmig
Not quite my jam, I think I like something a more structured. Interesting listen though.
I know he was good but idk how to tell good jazz from bad jazz. I was tapping my foot a lot. Would enjoy listening while drinking a martini in in a dark bar/club
I think I'm a bigger fan of the slower tracks; it's really good but I feel as if I don't understand jazz very well. Would like this on vinyl to continue listening though. Pannonica is my jam.
Brilliant. Always love some Monk time!
I like some 50's Monk. This has Sonny Rollins of Rollins Band, I believe... I'm a liar, don't listen to me. Monk is the embodiment of jazz on the piano. He's all over the place, but it works. These guys play well together. I like some of his later stuff better, like Monk's Dream and Monk., but this is a good one. A nice loungy jam session. I like this music, so it gets a 4.
I liked this a LOT. Nothing I didn't like about it honestly. Perfect jazz album.
Very cool. Monk had such a unique sense of melody. I love the smoky dark room vibes of “Pannonica.” Must-listen #162.
4/5
Very very good jazz record. I enjoyed this alot. Normally I am somewhat hesitant with sax jazz, but this was great. This may make it to my regular jazz rotation
Very jazzy. We aren't usually the greatest fans of jazz, but we really enjoyed this one. Makes you want to move.
4.6
really smooth and upbeat jazz music. i didn't know what hard bop was until tonight... it's a subgenre of bebop jazz that takes influence from rhythm and blues that's noted for its faster pacing and animated solos. i like jazz! i really really do. this album is great. however, this album, like many other albums doesn't stick out to me. it's very nice to listen to, i like the sort of swingin' jazz sound that sounds like everyone's bouncing along to the hits of the tom-toms, and the long tracks really showcase just how creative these solos can go. but alas... it's missing the spark that makes me obsessed. it's a shame, because again. i found this album pleasant to listen to. one song is vocal and there's a few piano focus tracks... really there's just a few other jazz albums that blend into this one i think.
This is one that I'm gonna have to spend more time with. I can listen to this and very plainly see that Brilliant Corners is full of extremely intricate, emotive jazz compositions, and I can understand that Monk is considered among the greatest jazz composers/musicians ever for a damn good reason. Just listen to the title track for everything great about this in a nutshell: it's really a staggering song. However, I regret to say that I have yet to really digest and connect to these songs, but I can definitely appreciate what I'm hearing on some level. I'm gonna give this a healthy 4, because I really can't imagine giving it anything lower.
not into jazz enough to know how to correct rate it. but i did enjoy this quite a bit. will be revisiting alot
++: Brilliant Corners, Pannonica, I Surrender, Dear, Bemsha Swing +: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are 9,4/10
Listened while driving, probably better for lying about in the sun or relaxing in the evening
Brilliant stuff really, I still feel like I have to learn more abour jazz compsitions and what they do to really get into this one more, but in the two times I have listened to it its been a great time I think. Monk never disappoints imo
Light and refreshing! Awesome musicians all!
Another decent jazz album - I'm actually starting to look forward to anything in this genre. Ouch, my knees!
This seemed like a simpler jazz record to enjoy. Was bluesy, catchy just straight up enjoyable. Outstanding musicianship. I liked this a lot. Fun to listen to.
Good background/chill
That’s good listening. Sometimes I think jazz songs can lose the plot. Not the case here
Thelonious Monk has to be the most distinctive musician we've had since they started recording music. The notes sound incorrect but it just works. He's just as impressive for what he doesn't play as for what he does. Solo Monk on I Surrender Dear has to be one of the loneliest sounds out there. It's not a warm, comforting solitude like Bill Evans or Marty Robbins yodeling his cowboy songs, this is the solitude of the guy you ignore asking for money at the exit on the highway.
Simple, complex, the music seems to flow rather than have composition, but there's not a single honk, hat tap, or key strike out of place
not sure to completely get this kind of music but i can recognize it's good
Gjennomgående lavt tempo og til tider tungrock-tungt. Veldig spennende album fra en veldig spennende tid i jazz-historien.
Interessante, magari non è il mio genere preferito, ma mi piace molto.
i love this kind of jazz. It's entrancing. it's relaxing. it's telling a story and it's beautiful. Could listen to this all day
Just good vibes the whole time. 4 stars
Listening notes: - Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are is giving Cruella de Vil (edit: Mel Leven paid homage to Monk with the Cruella song for the Disney film) - Sonny Rollins is IN FORM - Pannonica is where the swing really comes and gets ya. - I'd say that hard bop is better with Monk on the keys.
Really enjoyed it! Some jazz can feel too disjointed for me and this was great. Cohesive but still jazzy. Made me feel like I was more cultured for having listened to it
Did not like. Liked one of the pop songs. Violently happy.
It’s not background music
a lovely listen - album as a collective whole when you’re in the mood for jazz
Monk on form, I expect I'll only really appreciate this after coming back to it a few times. I read something recently that mentioned that one of the difficulties with appreciating Jazz is that people don't come to it chronologically, and so its hard to recognise the influence this has had on music you've already heard.
Yesterday I lamented how 5 tracks at 45 minutes was too long, but today I’m going to contradict myself and say I enjoyed this one. I guess I like this jazz album a bit more than the funk/soul album of Isaac Hayes, either that or 42 minutes is fine, but 45 is too much? What can I saw I’m inconsistent. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
Muy escuchable, no se hace insoportable de escuchar
jazz 👍
Kept getting better and better.
I Surrender, Dear
Cover song is most played, classic Monk in these tunes.
V pohode jazzicek na pozadi.
A really enjoyable Hard Bop record that stands out in a field of standouts.
It’s Thelonious Monk, but it’s also Rollins, Henry, Terry and Roach that bring the vision to life. If you like jazz, you will love this. If you hate jazz, buckle up for the jazziest jazz record out there. This is a treasure of an album, songs played by the absolute best at what they do.
likey likey
Very comfy. Feels timeless, and I can easily relax to this.
Brilliant! I will definitely listen to this one again.
Honestly really nice I loved the instrumentals and beat
Classic Thelonius Monk
Challenging, gripping, I listened to this while making loaded potatoes and spent the entire time bopping. I can immediately understand why this isn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it
Great album, love this kind of sound, it's just not the absolute best I've heard in this style. I like some of Thelonious' later work more. EDITGreat album, love this kind of sound, it's just not the absolute best I've heard in this style. I like some of Thelonious' later work more. EDIT: Its health is... improving.
👋 Jazz 👋 This whole album feels heavy in experimentation - no minute goes by without a total switchup in the song structure. Maybe this is the zoomer in me, or maybe it's just a style of jazz I'm not used to, but as an album experience it felt absolutely disorienting. With so many different ideas every second, though, you do end up with a lot of very cool individual moments. Standout track was Bemsha Swing Edit: Nearly a year later, I have found myself smoking the shit that made the Monk Lonious. It's a very rewarding listen if one can get through the chaos! Bumped from 2 stars to 4 stars.
Mmm... Excellent. 4/5.
This was good fun.
Such a unique style of playing. So "ugly" in a sense... Still, there's something about it that captivates you, even if it may be "simple" or even silly at times. Glad I finally got around to hearing some Monk
Things are happening in my brain.
an interesting jazz album. very classic sound for sure. Would I listen again: Probably Deserves to be on this list: Yes 4.0
Holy smokes, no wonder it took so many takes to get that first track. There's so much going on, and those rhythm changes are wild. You've got some incredible personnel on this besides monk. Rollins is a monster on the sax. And I love Maximum Roach's drumming. He's right up there with Blakey and Rich for me. I've never heard this album before, but it's definitely going to enter my rotation. It's easy listening but also has some progressive elements found in later 60s post bop than what was typical of 50s jazz. I could play this at home without and get my jazz fix without getting too many raised eyebrows.
Jeh - mal öppis anders. Schön, harmonisch, ziitlos. Nüd für 24/7, gfallt mer aber.
monk isch amel so extra sloppy huuere geil. finds en uhuere geils stuck s erste. es entscheidt sich nie würkli wo ane aber blibt irgendwie ide gliche stimmig immer. balue bolivar? balues are?? hä. sehr sehr cool. es isch easy frei irgendwie für 57? ok es isch schono hard boppig. i surrender dear huuere schö nur klavier er groovt wie sau. bis chli passiv am gnüsse.
I started this project because I was in a bit of a musical rut (my Spotify Wrapped felt like an intervention) and wanted to expand my horizons. And so far it's working, because I'm enjoying the jazz albums a lot more than I thought I would. I really liked this.
I enjoyed it as a very very amateur listener of jazz
Wijs album. Ideale timing, want ik ben wat in m'n jazz-periode for some reason. 3.8
It’s Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins bouncing off eachother, what’s not to love? Some superb dark jazz throughout this album and a beautiful solo piece by Monk towards the end. It wasn’t one I had heard before but it’ll definitely be going into my rotation now.
Honestly a lovely jazzy time. Good vibes
Classic Monk off-kilter jazz with some pleasantly spicy instrumentation. at times I'd feel like the album is poking fun at me.
The title track was so difficult it had to be stitched together from multiple takes like jazz Frankenstein. Pleasant, intricate, and elusive — I enjoyed it twice, but nothing ever tapped me on the shoulder.
Challenging to the listener
Sounds like a billiards expert to me.
That opening track starts a little too jazz for me. But the rest of this was super fun. I may buy this on vinyl if I come across it.
Good jazz. Stand-out: Bemsha Swing
Brilliant Corners 3.8 Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are 3.7 Pannonica 3.4 I Surrender, Dear 3.3 Bemsha Swing 3.5 Score: 3.54
A delight.
It's good, but at times it sounds like they're trying to be different for the sake of being different. Favorite song: Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are
Adventures in listening.
I really enjoyed this album
Before I got this album I thought Thelonious Monk was the name of a 70s prog band. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong, because this was much better than more 70s prog.
I liked it. I really wanted to love it though Too much of it faded on me
Very much enjoyed.
Nice - blends into the background if you want, but if you pay attention there's all sorts of weird stuff going on! Fave tracks - hmmm, sections of "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" were great. "I Surrender, Dear" was very chill, too. This is more of a whole album deal, though...
Great bop album by Monk. Like all of his records this has this slightly weird, hard-hitting piano playing. Good stuff!
Quirky "little" jazz album with quite a lot of good sounds. Not my favorite from the Monk, but still an essential in his discography.
Nice vibes for a fall morning
Go off, Max Roach. Loved “Pannonia,” also “I Surrender Dear” with just Monk on piano…lovely
While Monk has never been my favorite jazz pianist, this was a solid album with some fantastic horn work from Rollins
I always love a good Thelonious Monk record. And though this isn't really my favorite of his, I still like it a lot but I would recommend a few of his records over this one; Straight No Chaser and Misterioso are probably my favorites from him. Also the records he made with John Coltrane are amazing as well. This one - it's still fantastic. Solid 4/4.
nice a jazz album, while listening to these albums I try to look them up and get to know what they are about. apparently this is a landmark album not only for Thelonious Monk but for jazz in general. Stocked about this because I wanna deep dive into some jazz
forica, tip je one man band
I really wish they didn't put jazz on this list. Yes, it's an album but I can't rate it the same way I'd rate a rock or pop album. Musicianship is solid, rhythm is complex, and if I was in the right mood and wanted to zone out for an hour I might love it. But I didn't have the time today and found listening to be a chore. Which is a shame. I'll give it a 4, but really needs an N/A
Great album by Monk. Love how the sax/piano play off one another in a harmonic and adversarial way.
Fun jazz record
Fun easy listening
All of Monk's works are great. They feel, unlike many artists, like one giant album.
Brilliant horns, drums and corner guitars.
brilliant corners- 7 or 8 ba-lue bolivar ba-lues-are- 7 pannoica- 8 i surrender, dear- 6 bemsha swing- 8
Really loved this, a great vibe. Pannonica sounded like it was riffing 'fly me to the moon' at one point - not sure if that was good or bad but took me out of it for a moment.
This was great - just excellent vibes all the way through.
Strong performances, but the compositions aren't really my thing
Genius :) love it
This is a good jazz album. It establishes themes and mood well, and the instrumentation is great. Would definitely listen again.
opening track is phenomenally dynamic, many interesting structural flourishes that I am unqualified to really decipher beyond intuitive/visceral appreciation. the piano-playing seems the engine driving the compositions. the proceeding three tracks, while pleasant in their own way, not nearly as memorable. closing track reanimates some of the opening track's virtuosity. sidenote: thelonious monk is an elite name to have by birth, big win for nominative determinism; i don't see a world in which someone named "thelonious monk" is an accountant content working a drab 9-5.
Decent 4 for me. I enjoy it more so because of how influential things came out of it, rather than the music itself which I feel drags on too long sometimes and is a bit too straight.
Pretty gud
Not a big jazz listener. I really liked this album!
Incredible album by one of the greats of jazz. I don't know a lot about jazz, I like some and find some unbearable. Do I know anything about Monk's playing style? He plays piano, otherwise nope. Do I know what type of jazz this is? Kinda be-bop maybe? What I do know is I enjoyed listening to this album.
Really enjoyed this. There was some absolutely insane compositions here especially on the Tenor.
Very enjoyable jazz album
I always enjoy some jazz and this was no exception.
Sultry, smooth and easy. Thelonious is always a pleasure to listen to and captivates the true essence of jazz. Great vibes all around on this one.
It’s filled with walking bass lines that provide structure, and Monk’s playing has a clean textural clarity to it that is appealing.
Highlights: Brilliant Corners, Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are. In a nutshell: five challenging compositions. Monk. One of the biggies of bebop and jazz in a studio with the best in the biz at the time: Max Roach, Ernie Henry and Sonny Rollins on sax and Oscar Pennington on bass. They made magic here. Wasn't into the xylophone sounding celesta on Pannonica (sounds childish instead of quaint). Didn't know about Max Roach before today and damn, he is sensational on the drums here! Jazz has the reputation of being boring, same sounding. What I've learned with albums that are potentially disengaging is to focus on the parts that make the whole. Do you like drums, horns, piano, the beat, bass when listening to music in general? Concentrate on those instruments or components and see where the album takes you. No guitars and no lyrics doesn't necessarily mean it sounds like shit. I sound like a hypocrite based on previous reviews but my point still stands. Overall: 8/10
quintessential jazz for someone who enjoys the genre but has very little knowledge of the intricacies
I enjoyed this a fair bit. Some great drumming on here from Max Roach.
Beautiful record. The highlight for me is I Surrender, Dear; a sad and gorgeous masterpiece that serves as a calming point before the swinging closer.
Crisp and warm, the performances here are wonderful across the board. A great piece of 50's jazz. It's never particularly flashy playing but they sound and are confident enough in their chops to make such demonstrations unnecessary.
feel like there’s a lot of jazz you can look at & go “this came out in x year? woah!!!” but this one & Monk in general stand out to me with how effortlessly he blends bop & trolling. swapping on a dime from the swing feel to the dirge-like sound of the melody on the title track is genuinely hilarious. where are the Thelonious Monk Funny Moments compilations. also can you imagine having Mr. PC & Max Roach on your album & they don’t even make the mentions on the cover? this has me hopeful for more even slightly out there jazz on this list though i wouldn’t be surprised if they stopped with Out to Lunch hilarious the way that streaming lists artists for jazz, i loved the guest verse from Sonny Rollins (crazier part is that he’s still alive!)
can you believe this guy would grow up to become a renowned detective with ocd
Ne sjećam se da sam prije sluša
Good, solid jazz album. Simple. Songs ran a little long. Standouts: Brilliant Corners, Pannonica, and I Surrender, Dear.
unusual as well. sounds kind of primitive, but got some catchy rhythms
I don't know enough about this jazz to comment whether or not this is a good jazz album or not, but I do know that this is definitely the kind of music I was hoping to get out of starting this random album journey, and I think it's a good kickstart there! I also learned that I would prefer jazz songs with either vocals (in comparison to other records I've accidentally listened in the future), or with a bassline (adds some texture, like the second half of Bemsha Swing). Good data!
Andere mood 5
Solid
A brilliant album, but—idk—maybe a bit uneven. The opening track is heavy duty stuff and the others don't quite match the vibe. Apparently they were barely even able to record the former though, so that's probably why.
This is one of those albums that's probably a lot more interesting than I can really appreciate. If you know any music theory, the complexity of these songs, particularly the title track probably means a lot more. I can recognize that it's impressive and ahead of its time but I don't have the vocabulary to explain why. The novelty of the style is probably reflected in the incredible difficulty that he faced trying to get other musicians to play is correctly. But how do you communicate a sound that hasn't been heard before? Despite my lack of knowledge here, I still really enjoyed listening and trying to think about it all.
Very nice
爽就完事了
Pleasant to listen to, balanced and 'brilliant'
интересный
Cooked to this
There’s a bar near my house called Brilliant Corners so this has been on my list for a while! Loved it - jazz is the best work music unless it gets super intense and then it d low gives me heart palpitations
I enjoyed this so much. Perfect antidote to a gloomy first day back at work in Sydney.
07:14 O KURŁA ALE BEDZIE. 12:11 5 przesłuchań i zalatuje nuda, ale fajne fajne, jazgoty jazzowe zawsze miłe memu sercu.
This was definitely out of my comfort zone. I appreciated the album a lot. Felt enjoyable to listen while working.
Good stuff. Don't ignore the jazz
I thoroughly enjoyed it 4
7/10
Maybe this list is converting me to liking jazz. Made me feel cool listening to it, especially because it's nearly 70 years old.
Now THIS is jazz! Listening to this album took me back to my years playing in jazz ensembles, and while I’ve PLAYED a lot of jazz throughout the years, I feel like you can’t truly understand it until you’ve sat down and listened through the greats. Thelonious Monk is one such legendary musician whose music deserves a thorough listen. This album was very enjoyable! The first track, which is also the title track, opens with a dissonant little piano intro. Monk was noted for his use of dissonance and accidentals — he once famously quipped that the piano “ain’t got no wrong notes.” The saxes, played by Ernie Henry and Sonny Rollins, launch into a dizzying melody. Part of me wishes the saxes would have utilized more harmony than playing unison, but with how much is going on in the other instruments, it might have been a good idea to keep things simple. There is also a drum solo — in fact, several of the tracks have drum solos. And I’m a sucker for a good jazz drum solo. The following piece features a melodic line that almost resembles the legendary villain song “Cruella de Vil” — in fact, Monk’s composition predates the Disney song by a few years, and I’m curious if the composer for the 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians drew some inspiration from Monk’s music. Monk’s penchant for dissonant, unusual chords is once again on display. The upright bass solo, interestingly, doesn’t have much of a discernible chord progression, as the piano drops out, and doesn’t really stick to the key much. I’m not typically a fan of atonal-sounding music, but this solo actually managed to captivate me BECAUSE of how weird it was. Our third track, “Pannonica,” is a celesta-driven ballad that includes some breathtaking moments between the saxes, giving me some of those delicious harmonies I was wishing for in the title track. The drums are much softer here, seemingly played with brushes rather than sticks, while the saxes and piano play off each other beautifully throughout the piece. Track number four is all piano, baby! Monk shines in this twinkly little piece titled “I Surrender, Dear,” a cover of a composition written by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford. Something that took me aback at first were the tiny audible sighs and hums you can hear throughout this recording. It’s amazing how intimate those little noises make the music seem. It feels like you’re in the room as Monk is performing just for you. I feel like that human element is missing from a lot of music today due to how perfect we feel like we have to get recordings to sound. We really sanitize our music these days before it’s released, but I’d love to see a return to these simpler recordings, just a man and his piano in a room. The final track is a tune co-written with Denzil Best in honor of Best’s parent’s homeland of Barbados. The recurring melody is very interesting here — I got more “Middle East” than “Barbados” vibes from it. I haven’t played around with my keyboard to figure out which scale this piece utilizes, but I’d be curious it borrows at all from scales originating outside the Western music tradition. It’s a very odd-sounding but catchy melody, and I can see myself humming it myself for the rest of the day. It also borrows a little from the twelve-bar blues progression, although the progression is lacking the traditional dominant chord turnaround at the end. It’s probably my favorite track if I’m honest, because I really do love the melody, and I feel like it’s the most musically cohesive song on the album. This album is very weird, but then again, the best jazz IS weird. Thelonious Monk is a legendary musician for a reason, and his talent really shines through on this album. It was a fascinating voyage through a handful of very unique compositions, and I really enjoyed getting to analyze them on a theory level. Four years of music school paid off I guess!
I have probably never consciously heard of Thelonious Monk or this album. As a rule, jazz is too complicated for me, although I am definitely interested in the genre. So I listened to this album with great interest. Perhaps the first track on the album is particularly difficult. I didn't really understand it and found it difficult. I enjoyed the other tracks on the album so much that I spent the rest of the day listening to Jazz Classics with great pleasure. 4/5
I always feel like I’m missing most of what is going on when I listen to jazz, but I found it quite enjoyable
A great album but not my favorite Monk collection
Really nice jazz 7/10
Love me some jazz this is beautiful
A challenging listen, but I put a lot of effort into this one and found it rewarding.
Iconic
Wonderful, lush and complex jazz piece. A little disjointed at times, and it feels awfully rehearsed at others. However, all collaborators seem to play off each other's strengths and weakness' really well and Thelonius gives them space to do their own thing.
Great jazz. I wish I could hear this in a basement club.
Watching videos of Monk he has this almost childlike style of playing - hesitant bum notes, prodding keys top-down with rigid fingers - but will then roll effortlessly into beautiful trilling and meandering solos. The man was an amazing, singular talent and clearly didn't give a toss about cohering to standards of melody and rhythm. Although maybe not on the same wavelength (who could be), there's some gorgeous sax by Sonny Rollins on here too.
Great jazz album
Favorite Track: Brilliant Corners
-wow this was a fun listen! as much as I’ve been getting into jazz lately I hadn’t heard Thelonious Monk yet and had been waiting for the chance. Stays true to the fun hard bop sound of the 50s/60s(?) that I like but also had some cool unique sounds -Favorites are Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are, Pannonica, and Bemsha Swing
Thelonious Monk is the character in the film American fiction. Soundtrack is similar sound. This album was good, creative and interesting in a relaxed way. Will have another listen later
great jazz record, must listen
really good, nice, cohesive jazz album. Good for winter. not good for the impatient, energetic listener.
I do like me some solid jazz, and this is that. Not much else to say except yes it is good.
I loved Pannonica. The rest was pretty good too.
Un genio del piano, con una forma única de tocar. Este disco le supuso el reconocimiento que durante años le fue negado, a pesar de haber compuesto clásicos como Round Midnight. Sonny Rollins al saxo (salvo en Bemsha Swing), otro gigante. Max Roach y Pettiford, dos innovadores del Be Bop completan el cuarteto. Otros discos de 1957: Little Richard- Here´s, Miles Davis- The birth of the cool, The Crickets (Byddy Holly)- The Chirping Crickets, Count Basie- Atomic y April in Paris, Sabu- Palo Congo, Machito- Kenya, After Midnight – Nat King Cole, After School Session – Chuck Berry, At Mister Kelly's – Sarah Vaughan, Coltrane – John Coltrane, Ray Charles y The Great Ray Charles – Ray Charles, Please, Please, Please – James Brown, Ricky – Ricky Nelson
Good album for Saturday afternoon listening. A little heavy on the saxes for me but overall enjoyable. 3.5
Incredible arrangements. Felt good in the brain to listen to this.
Brilliant corners is simply a timeless classic. Monk's style may be off putting for some with his crunchy dissonant, off kilter dissonant piano playing, but therein also lies his genius. Allstar band. Highlight for me is Bemsha Swing. 4⭐️
Interesante y agradable de estudiar, pero siento que no sé tanto de jazz como para poder diferenciar un jazz bueno de uno malo, todos me parecen buenos.