SORRY - SOLD OUT

Analogue Productions - AJAZ 1158 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

Mastered By Steve Hoffman & Kevin Gray at Acoustech Mastering

Riverside RLP-1158 - 1,000 Numbered   Limited Edition - Pressed at RTI 

AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Solo piano by Thelonious Monk. This album was created, you might say, by stripping things down to the essentials: a bare hall, recording equipment, and one highly talented musician. When that musician is Thelonious Monk, it should not be at all surprising that the result is as you could hope to get from any jazz combination of any size.

The varied catalog of memorable Riverside albums by Thelonious Monk includes two solo-piano efforts. Producer Orrin Keepnews remembers them as equally successful but strikingly different projects. The 1957 Thelonious Himself was recorded in New York on three separate nights and involved much creative ferment and many re-takes. This album was accomplished with remarkable ease in Northern California two years later, in two brief sessions on consecutive afternoons (one preceded by lunch at a family-style Italian restaurant), with only one of the ten selections (a totally unfamiliar old pop tune arbitrarily chosen at the last moment) requiring more than one take. 

With the robust ambience of Fugazi Hall in San Francisco at his disposal, Thelonious Monk recorded ten unaccompanied tracks over two days to create a long-awaited sequel to his immensely endearing Thelonious Himself long-player. As had become somewhat customary for Monk, he brought with him a healthy sampling from his voluminous back catalog, cover tunes, as well as a few new compositions. What is most immediately striking about these recordings is the rich and accurate sound stage at Fugazi Hall. The overtones are rich and thoughtful in their ability to animate Monk's recreations of some of his most endearing works, such as the pair that opens this set. "Blue Monk" still retains the proud stride and walking blues heritage of previous renderings. Adding a bit of off-tempo improvisation, Monk propels and emphasizes the rhythmic swing even harder. He is obviously also enjoying what he is hearing. The audible maturity guiding Monk through the familiar, albeit offbeat, chord progressions of "Ruby, My Dear" is striking. His nimble reflexes and split-second timing render this version superior. Again, the sound of the hall offers even more to enjoy from this performance. It is unfortunate that the playful solitude of "Round Lights" was never revisited. This freeform composition is framed within a blues structure, yet reveals all of the slightly askew freedom of a Monk original. The recreation of an old 1920s hit, "There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie," is another of the highlights from Thelonious Alone in San Francisco that was never recorded again by Monk. The noir qualities are immeasurably enhanced by Monk's oblique phrasings as well as the eerie resonance of the Fugazi. This is an absolute must-own recording -- Monk enthusiast or not.

Thelonious Monk Alone In San Francisco

1. Blue Monk 
2. Ruby, My Dear 
3. Round Lights 
4. Everything Happens To Me 
5. You took the words right out of my heart 
6. BlueHawk 
7. Pannonica 
8. Remember 
9. There's Danger In Your Eyes, Cherie (take 2) 
10. There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie (take 1) 
11. Reflections