Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane At Carnegie Hall - Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane

When it was announced that previously unreleased material from a Monk/Coltrane concert had been discovered at the Library of Congress everyone who loved jazz had to lick their chops as I did.  Two of the giants in jazz performing their material live at Carnegie Hall of all places!?  What could be better?  My imagination at the time did not prepare me for what my ears heard when I listened to this CD for the first time.  It was truly beyond anything I expected.

From the first tune - "Monk's Mood" you realize that something really special happened that night.  Monk's opening statement is absolutely beautiful.  His touch seems soft but confident.  When Trane joins him...  good gracious...  somebody pinch me please.  What you hear on this recording is two masters of music completely confident with the material and each other.  While I would be hard pressed to find favorite tunes on this recording (they are all excellent) I would have to say that "Bye-Ya," "Blue Monk" and "Epistrophy" really plugged in with me.  Coltrane navigates the changes with confidence and Monk continues to stretch the boundaries of tunes that he had probably performed countless times.  My goose bumps have goose bumps.

The sound quality is absolutely astounding.  Crystal clear and incredibly balanced.  Monk was playing on a grand piano that really allows his genius and unique playing abilities to shine.  Check out Shadow Wilson's cymbal work on "Epistrophy" -- good gracious.

To me this ranks with some of the greatest jazz albums recorded and a must have for every music library.  Easily the best release of music this year and the best I've heard since getting turned on to jazz.  Get it.  Now.

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