Brilliant Corners

Very accessible so far as jazz goes, really liked it

amazing jazz accomplishment — precise and polished

I feel like I'm too much of a jazz normie to understand why this is good, but I really like how it sounds. Bemsha Swing has a kinda of tiresome melody.

solid jazz album

Great smooth listen

"Brilliant Corners" is Thelonious Monk's magnum opus, showcasing his innovative genius in jazz. Each track demonstrates Monk's ability to push boundaries while respecting tradition. It solidifies his status as a trailblazer and remains a timeless inspiration for musicians. This album is a testament to Monk's enduring legacy in jazz.

Still trying to figure out Brilliant Corners.

This sure is a jazz album, and it sure is good too.

Funny how these more free kinds of Jazz help my mind to unwind and relax. I would‘ve expected the very opposite but the way the music is a complete mystery to me it‘s kinda easier to let it be and soak into one‘s troubled mind. 3.5

Pretty cool. First taste of Jazz and I dig it man.

I could listen to this every weekend morning with a cup of coffee. Or a smoky bar every weekend night. For jazz (my listening knowledge is pretty thin) this is smooth and really nice. Chaotic, as jazz can be, but the chaos is framed within the bass line, allowing each song to move along in a way that can enjoyed.

Great listen, and really a nice fall album. Just a nice cozy jazz album

The more I listen to jazz the more I realize I really enjoy jazz. The music feels so full and everybody is a master of their craft. Excellent album to have on while at work. Added to playlist: Brilliant Corners

Enjoyed it -- if I get nothing else out of this album project, I will finish knowing that I need to listen to more jazz

Overall excellent. I generally prefer jazz that gives me a bigger melodic anchor to grab hold of but that doesn’t mean I didn’t find this wonderful. I need to look this up but I have a feeling we’re hearing something much closer to true improvisation as opposed to solos that are riffs over a plotted roadmap. Bemsha Swing is a fuckin banger. 4.5/5 stars

Classic jazz. Thelonious Monk can get pretty off the map during his solos and it's cool to listen to but I think it can get a little too out there at times. I love the rhythmic variations in the title track though, it felt very locked in when it changed. Max Roach holding it down as always.

Awesome jazz album

Pleasant but I just don't dig jazz

Don't feel like I know enough jazz to have a proper opinion, but was great background music.

Classic soundtrack for staring at the world.

Very good interesting jazz that's great to read to but the kind of album I doubt I'll go to often when on shuffle but will be likely to listen to again when the mood hits me

Good stuff, men ikke det aller aller beste. Tror plata vil vokse på meg!

Oh look, another jazz album both my husband and I can agree on.

Man I like jazz.

One of those inevitable albums, when talking about the foundation of modern jazz. I don’t quite have the same relation to Monk as I do Davis, Brubeck, Coltrane etc. But Brilliant Corners is nevertheless a regular spin at home.

late night cocktail vibes…get wasted and pass out in central park. you spirit leaves your body and floats into an ethereal inaccessible to mortals.

The thing I love about jazz is that I don’t understand it at all. I enjoy listening to it, but don’t know why like I would with other genres. Thelonious Monk is one of my go to jazz musicians if I want to hear some good jazz. He’s very good at establishing his moods and obviously the instrumentation is impeccable. The second track droned a tad and I would have preferred he cut it back a little and perhaps made another, more interesting, piece. My only critique. 4/5

Such a relaxing album made by one of the all time greats. Wonderful listen. 8/10

Jazz!

Parts of this are a challenge for me, but in the “I think I need to hear that again” way, not that I didn’t like it. But much of this is just amazing.

Good stuff

second track is one of my favourite jazz tunes, slightly dragged down by the last half of the album but is still a great listen.

Lovely melodies, engaging instrumentation, compact songs

Prefer Sonny Rollins as a solo artist, but still good

The first track absolutely kicks arse. That sax is menacing. I wish everything else was like that. Most of the rest of the album though while very good, is a lot more gentle swing, dinner party style jazz. I can't see me listening to that again. Ironically the last track entitled Bemsha Swing is actually much more freeform, and definitely more my bag. An album full of track 1 and 5 please!

Pretty good

Cool

This album is a bop and goes hard, some might even call it a… Hard bop.

so good! An instant connection with this one. I had never heard of this Thelonius Monk album, though I’ve played out others. This one was just a great listen during my morning. 4/5

If you like jazz, you should check out this album. If you are like me and don't like jazz, you should skip this album.

I thought I would find this boring, but I was wrong. It is full of fun, catchy melodies and just sounds like the musicians were all having a blast making it.

Amazing Jazz pianist; in particular the opening track throws you into chaos and resolves to a reliable relief of assonance and consistent rhythm. But not all tracks astound so much as the title track. This album is also notably held back by the recording quality of the day-- its very fuzzy and in some songs you can hear musicians humming or keeping the beat. Keeping in mind the day and age this was released and the target it was released for this is near perfect. It might have difficulty holding up to modern production standards.

Lively, angular. Just real pretty stuff. Favorite tracks: "Brilliant Corners", "Bemsha Swing"

Very solid jazz album, but I liked the one from yesterday more.

Damn, that was smooth.

Love how the songs were played on this one. There is so much life induced into every note on here, something I wish I saw more in Jazz. A great record.

C’est du bon jazz ça

Great jazz album. Listened to the whole thing and was satisfied!

Hello, and welcome to Jazz Club. Next up, Thelononius Monk with Scuba-dooba-dooba-bal-ue-surrender-panna-cotta-sandwich, with Sonny Rollins, Ernie Henry and Clark Terry. Also featuring Off Kilter chords and Sax that gatecrashed from a whole other song. Listen out for the smoky bass 10 minutes into Bolivar and get ready for those textured drum beats. Sensational. Let's listen again. Nice👌🏻

Really swings!

I've heard a few jazz albums in the list by now. I still don't feel smart enough to critique this or even necessarily explain why I liked it, but like it I certainly did. This was a pleasant jazz record that was like a warming whisky in a dimly lit bar. A very nice accompaniment to my evening. Favourite: Pannonica

Probably the best jazz album on this list so far

Hvar hefur þú verið allt mitt líf, Thelonious? Æðislegt stöff!

Highlight: Pannonica

Nice. Rides the line between being weird and interesting without being too much hard work. Mellow but still challenging.

Again, reviewing jazz is like reading a book in a foreign language. It all seems nice but I don't really have a deeper understanding than that. The slow stuff is more exciting than the fast stuff. Clearly they're all incredible musicians.

Very good.

I love TM!

Great easy jazz album for non-jazz people to enjoy. Enjoyed the journey throughout each track

Hard bop. Es como jazz instrumental. Está bien para trabajar. Un 4.

I feel that this got better as it progressed, culminating in the lovely 'I Surrender, Dear', and the rollicking 'Bemsha Swing'. The drumming in the latter is, by bop standards, thunderous. Don't think that I'll ever tire of having Monk thrust in my direction.

This is the kind of background jazz I like. It's good enough to become foreground jazz if you want it to, not obnoxious enough to force that decision upon you. Solid through and through.

Great album. Thelonious has always been a little too chaotic for my taste, but it is hard to beat some good Jazz.

Good stuff. Solid 3.5

Brilliant band. Sounds still fresh.

I have a respect for jazz but wasn’t the vibe.

Solid Jazz.

The monk is the man! This was a beauty

Sonceramente no me sorprendio tanto, es bueno, lo que se espera de un grupo de renombre pero no mas que un 6 o 7/10 sinceramente. Hay buenaa armonias, es interesante, los piques dicen algo, se alternan en sonidos, tempo, escalas, pero es jazz groovy del bueno y lisgo, no hay mas profundizacion.

This is just what I needed for my early morning work. Not too demanding, but a burst of energy to get my fingers tap, tap, tapping on the keyboard. I could have been a jazz musician, y'know. Well, a two chord bass player. I lost it a little in trying to match the rhythm with my keyboard, But that's jazz, YEAH? I never know where to start with the jazz classics. Sometimes just diving in does the job. Nice, etc.

GOOD NICE

Good chilled jazz album.

Smooth jazz. Good background music, felt like I was in a lift for a very long time.

Really enjoyed that, having listened to some of his contemporaries but never Monk himself. Great background working music in my book as well.

Listened to it twice without realising. I didnt think I would enjoy it as background music as much as I did. 4/5

I have complained about lots of other albums without vocals not holding my attention but this one is a total exception. Really enjoyed this, I am a fan of jazz usually though. the saxophones and trumpets were gorgeous and I loved the double bass and wire brush drumming. I also really liked the piano track "I Surrender, Dear"

Monk the 🐐. More jazz please, Rob

Bhill

Great finding outside my confort zone

JAZZ. Beautiful things happen when legends team up. Favorite track: Bemsha Swing

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Pannonica, I surrender dear

Comfy jazz, felt like I should be sitting in smoky lounge with a cocktail

Really good hard bop. The playing is exciting, but the hero here is the composition. Monk writes a set of inventive, out-of-the-box tunes that are a blast to spend time with. I prefer my jazz a little more out there or a little groovier, but this was almost as good as some of my favorites.

Every song tells a story. Fuckin' loved it.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Thelonious Monk is half a tick too sophisticated for my ears. There's some brilliant passages that took me away. The opening of Bemsha Swing, for example, evokes a fun swishy dance party in some island paradise. Sonny Rollins comes in and it's great, and I'm groovin', and then at some point I lose the thread. If I was better at listening 5 stars, but sadly I'm not.

I'm not a jazz guy at all but this was an enjoyable listen

I am not a big jazz connoisseur. I like to be guided by others who occasionally pass me an album. And now 1001 Albums brought me this one from Thelonious Monk. And I am very happy with this recommendation. To me this sounds like technically challenging jazz with very interesting rhythms, but played so languidly that it seems to come close to a kind of smooth jazz at times, despite the fact that the dissonant tones of the piano always keep you on your toes and make you listen a bit more intensely. Accessible jazz, which reveals more and more the more you listen to it.

4 stars

Fantastic! monk is amazing as always and it’s fascinating to hear sonny Rollins breakout with him. best tracks: brilliant corners, bemsha swing, ba-lue bolivar ba-lues-are

Delightful jazz album. The name is apt - Brilliant as in distinct and - Corners as in sharply turning (I am reading too much into this idk). The music is lively and surprising in its metric in key moments, wonderful for an active listening session. Maybe not ideal on commute or other tasks - should be enjoyed will full attention 3.5/5

I know the band but I have to say I didn't reallt have the patience for the album today, but is quality nonetheless

Solid tasteful album. Monk is a king among kings, and Sonny Rollins is a king among kings. This album is really great and I can't stop saying "tasteful". They use plenty of dissonances but only when needed. They confidently move between modern jazz and classic jazz, with an approach that to me feels like classic structures with modern ideas. I love the vibraphone / idiophone instrument throughout the album, and everything is really stellar.

Loved it

Some enjoyable piano led jazz.

SLAPSSSS holy shit

Monk on vahva! Tämä on eittämättä klassikko se sanottakoon. Hyllystä löytyy ja diggailen kovasti vaikka jazzin suhteen tykkään usein hieman enemmän cool-soundista. Hieno kokonaisuus joka saa minkä tahansa punkun maistumaan. 4/5

absolutely brilliant if you're looking to expand your music taste

Nice jazz album

Very good and relaxing

Fun though too cryptic for me sometimes. And some saxoPHONEYness

loved this!

Good one

Bright and exactly the right way to start off the week.

Brilliant indeed, also challenging and cerebral. Monk's playing is sublime, and the contributions by the rest of the musicians are solid too. Pannonica and I Surrender, Dear are personal favs. I award this four mirrors, to help reflect Monk's radiant smile to the four corners of the world. 🪞🪞🪞🪞

You can really hear Thelonious’s deep understanding of the rules of jazz and the blues in his playing. He bends the rules in all the right places making for a wonderful bit of piano playing. Sonny Rollins kills on sax. The mix on the bass is a little low, but the bass player still holds it down. The drum tone is great, so classic and restrained. It’s amazing how just a title and Monk’s playing unlocks a rich lyricism in “I Surrender, Dear”. That slow swung section is amazing. But I just didn’t connect with this album as much as I have other 5s, so it has to be a 4

8/10

Solid jazz. 8/10

Lovely jazz

Pretty great jazz stuff. 4/5

Ya like jazz?

Another pretty generic jazz album

Breath of fresh air after some of the others from the list.

Truly one of a kind, Monk's compositions are both off-kilter and highly enjoyable. The top-notch players around him make this record, which is only one of several of his that could/should have been included.

I have quite a history with Thelonious Monk. Tickle them ivories and ebonies. 😁

It's jazz

jazz

Jazz always gets 4 stars

Wunderbar

My first time listening to Monk. This is a great jazz album really enjoyed it.

Brilliant like the title says

Good jazz

Great jazz album

What a powerhouse band. Listening to Sonny Rollins and Clark Terry work with Monk and his intricate syncopations is a joy.

Good jazz music. Sorry you’re putting me on the spot I before I had a chance to actually listen to it.

4.75

The smell of sweat and whiskey interweaves with the tobacco smoke hanging thick from the low ceiling of the basement club. The society princess has escaped her ivory tower for the evening. A cigarette dangles from her refined fingers as she holds court with the proletariat at her table. Their whispered tones speak of freedom and rebellion and a world different from their parents'. The beat poets are here tonight. They're here every night now. They fill the breaks in the music with the syncopated rhythms of their words. And the people snap their fingers in mute acknowledgement of the poets wisdom. But it's the music they all come for. The music is where the energy and inspiration comes from. The music is what unlocks their doors, takes down their walls, and creates the avenues for their creative thought. Tomorrow, they will all be back in their little boxes, defined by others or external circumstances. But tonight?Tonight, they fly free on the wings of the music.

Fun rambling trumpet, pretty good jazz album

Instrumental Jazz

Heel vrolijke jazz. Leuk plaatje

Jaaaazz. Nice!

Mmmmmmm nice

monk digs into his hard hitting style with sax to match, although not as innovation and melodic as some of his others

Great music.

Thelonius Monk has the oddest sense of melody and timing. So mysteriously compelling. A sweet spot for progressive jazz.

Definitely interesting and has some interesting syncopation/melodies going on. Nothing jumps out to me as a standalone track, but it was all very nice.

Lovely album and good fun

Funcionou muito bem para criar um clima com o jazz clássico instrumental.

Nice and jazzy

I’m a total jazz n00b. I have no clue how to evaluate this album, other than to say it was pleasant to listen to during my Sunday brunch. That seems to equate to a 4 star rating.

Cool stuff.

Very cool. Surprised me

Good stuff

this being monk's first album of his own arrangements is incredible. the record companies should have been letting him do that from the start! this album is a wonderful piece of art! monk clearly had a gift with jazz and the piano. the composition of each piece really boggles my mind. an impressive, enjoyable album. should be a good one to listen to while working.

Top jazz pianist, goede chaos

i love jazz, i always enjoy it. this album was one of the best jazz records i've listened to. if you didn't like it then i think you just don't understand jazz very much.

Strong, solid jazz album like most of them are from this era. It’s ambitious and incredibly played, but the deliberate dissonance may be off-putting for some. Personally though, I dug it.

veisla

Didn’t mind the jazzy sensation

A bit haunting

Already had this one to rate - I think it was my second album. Third duplicate now since I joined a group, does that mean I have to listen to 1004 albums before I die? Previous review: Great Monk album. Not totally sure I love Monk. Ended up reading more about Pannonica than much else. I need to run through the lead sheet on Brilliant Corners because I don't understand it as a composition.

Monk qui pousse les limites, tous des players de fous et ils ont dû faire du montage pour la pièce titre. On les sens un peut pas safe dans leurs solos mais ça les force à rester proche du thème et de la structure atypique de la composition, ce qui ressemble aux solos de Monk en général. Un de mes Monk préféré, surtout pour l'innovation de Brilliant Corners qui était assez avant-gardiste pour l'époque et pour le celesta dans Panonica que je trouve magique😇 Ça change de Norah Jones😅

C’est pas un bon album pour initier les gens au jazz. Je dirais plutôt que s’en est un pour les habitués qui cherche autre chose dans un contexte pré-modal. J’aime beaucoup Monk comme compositeur et comme explorateur. Je l’aime moins comme pianiste. Je le trouve un peu rustre. J’aime bien comment il accompagne les soliste par contre. C’est très inventif et peu conventionnel. Mention spéciale au son du bass drum qui est monstrueux sur plusieurs pièces. À réécouter certainnement.

I normally like Jazz but this one was a little slow for my taste.

Bebop is pretty polarizing, so expecting this to be divisive. Really digging the title track. As with all jazz, a little too easy to lose track for a bit, especially during the longer tracks, but this is the kind of jazz I like best, for the most part, so I think I'm pretty happy with this. Track two is pretty good, lots of cool twists and turns despite being on the long side. Yeah, I enjoyed this, on the whole.

That was some smooth jazz.

Makes me want to sit in a corner booth at a bar in Chicago and drink brandy cocktails. Some of this is over my head but it’s almost like looking at a start at night where you can see it a little better if you don’t look right at it. I can jive with Thelonious Monk better if I’m not too focused on it.

4/5. Definitely one of my favorite Jazz albums.

Mournful at times. Elegiac.

Might be some of my favorite Thelonious Monk works I’ve heard. Strong mix of emotions and styles in a tight album. Features other musicians and stays true to the man at the center of the album.

Sounds completely modern despite coming out in the 50s

Puro jazz.

hat mir richtig gut gefallen... leider habe ich auch nicht bemerkt, dass das album wieder von vorne anging... man merkt auf jeden fall die virtuosität der einzelnen musiker. glaube ihnen gingen gegen ende die ideen aus...

Listened at the gym this morning. Pretty new to Jazz but I like Miles Davis and John Coltrane a lot. This was also very good.

- Capa bonita - É... gostei de ouvir jazz - Pretendo ouvir mais vezes

It's great to hear more jazz. I like it.

I’ve never had much exposure to jazz, but it’s something I have long been thinking I need more familiarity with. Reading a little about this album it seems like an excellent place to start. When I listen to this it definitely seems like what I would expect in a jazz record. I put this on and found it very cool and classy, relaxing even. It was nice to sit back and chill out to the smooth music. I’m still a complete novice here, but am happy to hear this album.

Brilliant Corners is the tour de force of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. The compositions are complex, but still sound accessible. Sonny Rollins on saxophone makes this album a true hard bop classic.

Great jazz that goes to places that makes you pay attention.

Cool jazz!

hope it'll be a good listen, was good but not a 5 thats owing to his sucessors

A set of complex pieces for tenor saxophone, notably Brilliant Corners and Pannonica, in which Monk played both piano and celeste. This was to remain his masterpiece. (8/10) FT: Brilliant Corners

Good Jazz. Would recommend. Favorites: Brilliant Corners, Pannonica, I Surrender, Dear

Pannonica was a standout track. The whole album was super enjoyable to listen to. I'm glad that this finally gave me an excuse to sit down and listen to a Thelonious Monk album

Better than what I had heard from him.

Great album. Will need multiple listens to understand more of the movements and changes.

Some good jazz music

Nice background, need lyrics tho

It's a good sign when you can loop the album and you don't realize that you're listening to a song for a third time.

Jazz progression, the abstract of sound is bold, emotional, and thought inspiring. It’s a born talent, a gift. The album was great!,,

Good old fashioned jazz. For some reason I've always thought Thelonious Monk was a soul/jazz fusion guy from the '90s, but he actually died in the '80s. Anyway, this is great. Love the piano emphasis, as I believe that's Monk's specialty. Good range of emotional soundscapes here, not as stressful to me as the recent Coltrane album somehow. I loved a lot of the tracks here and would gladly return. Favorite tracks: Brilliant Corners (think like a brilliant), I Surrender Dear, Ba-Lue Bolivar, Pannonica. Album art: The five Monks of legend. He seems like a happy guy. I like this, it's much more creative than the typical jazz portrait cover. 4.5/5

Great album, one of my favorite jazz albums. Great tones from all musicians. Interesting Monk melodies. No weak links anywhere.

Very good and rather challenging.

A real discovery!

I like this a lot. Definitely getting more into the Jazz vibe as I get older..

Great Monk album. Not totally sure I love Monk. Ended up reading more about Pannonica than much else. I need to run through the lead sheet on Brilliant Corners because I don't understand it as a composition.

Legendary

bussin

Jazz zu bewerten fällt mir schwer. Aber das habe ich sehr gut hören können!

Erkennbar gut aber nicht leicht nachzuvollziehen. War aber auch nicht die Absicht vermute ich

Very much enjoyed 3.5/3.7?

Ya like jazz?

Really chill vibes

It is not Kind of Blue…but It is essential to jazz.

Good start here. Reminded me a little bit of Miles Davis; had never heard of the album or artist before listening. Enjoyed this immensely.

Easy 4/5

Done.

Nice clarinet work by theo

I listened to this album twice on my walks around the block with my infant, it was a delightful way to enjoy the outside breeze and sunshine. Fave Trax: Bemsha Swing, I Surrender, Dear

Sick

Ya like Jazz?

Brilliant bit of jazz

Brilliant Corners

Driving me crazy trying to figure out how/where I know this title track from. I'm a very passive jazz listener - while it's not my favourite music I still do especially enjoy this particular brand/style (instrumental, jazz-trio type). After two full run-throughs I can see why this is on a top list both because it's eminently listenable, interesting, and I've absolutely heard no less than three of these tracks before. Since I'm basic :P if you like Miles Davis Kind of Blue (nearly everyone has heard at least bits of that) you'll probably like this, although it seems a little more bebop/uptempo. It's quite good, I had this as a solid 3 but I think I'd put this as a 4 as I'll keep this one as something to come back to.

4/5 -> Melhores: "I Surrender, Dear" e "Bemsha Swing", mas o álbum todo é muito bom

I'm not normally one for jazz in general, but I really loved the atmosphere of this album. Perhaps because if the summer weather and it was the perfect soundtrack.

Rett og slett god jazz. mye artig påfunn.

Really enjoyed this - groovy melodies with pleasant sounding solos. Not too difficult, something I will listen to again.

Good free-form jazz, not a super easy listen but plenty in there

duplicate

funky jazz. i like. didn't finish whole album

esta chilleable, digerible, casi perfecto...thelonious monk una verga

Clean jazz is always appreciated

It's really tough to pick a favorite song with instrumental jazz... The 5 songs on here just kind of blend together into one 42 minute song. I'm not saying it's bad... but just tough to find one that stands out. All in all, I liked it.

Started listening - very jazzy. Did not finish.

Nice to wok by

Any time I focus in there is interesting stuff happening

Pretty class. Dos Monos sample the first track on this album, which was pretty unexpected.

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

Average straightaways.

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

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.

Good

3/5

I get why people liked Monk but he really has never done it for me outside of the stuff with Coltrane.

Jazzecito estandar sabroson

Enjoyable listen, just not my favorite.

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)

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

Good jazz. Not Thelonious Monk's best stuff. But good jazz.

Sounds like jazz to me

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

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.

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

Brilliant Corners

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.

Ég fílaði þetta smá.

solides jazzalbum

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

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

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.

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.

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

Much of this jazz and freeform music sounds similar.

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.

ok

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.

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.

Groovy and loved the bass. I enjoyed the sound but not something I would listen too usually.

bemsha swing was by far the best

Technically astute, but it did not bring jazz joy to me. Probably required listening, but not something I want to revisit.

I don't like jazz

This was decent for jazz. Not generally something I’d listen to though. (3)

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!

I wanted to enjoy the music more I just couldn't get into it.

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

3rd album

Pretty solid, nice music

Wasnt in the mood for jazz when this came up but appreciate it .

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Dnf. Another jazz album and its okay; not my thing.

Pretty good

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

Liked