Thelonious Monks
1957
Amanda: First of all, I have no idea how to say the name of this band. Is it tha-loan-ious? Or thee-lawn-ious? Well, whatever. I will probably never discuss this with anyone anyway because I happened to dislike this album.
We are reviewing, once again, jazz. Don't get me wrong; I like jazz. I also like the movie Jazz Singer as much as the next guy. Most of the jazz artists we have listened to up to this point, however, have brought something new to the table. I felt this band was rather unoriginal. Of course, they might have been revolutionary for their time. How about it, Brie? Does the book say anything about them inspiring change?
Overall, nice elevator music but not one of my favorites. Can we please get away from jazz for awhile?
RATING:
Brie: Actually, Thelonious Monk is one of the most admired and respected composers of the twentieth century. He was an artist who was a huge part of developing the style of bebop in Harlem in the 40s. Before this album, Thelonious Monk played Duke Ellington's music, but on Brilliant Corners he composed all of his own music. Apparently the title track of the album was so difficult to play due to the uneven timing of all of the instruments that it took over 25 takes to complete! I have to say that I only liked this music. I wouldn't put it on my ipod, just because I don't think I would ever play it. When I listen to these albums I think: if this were on my ipod, would I ever choose this over all of the other awesome music on there? The answer is no, unfortunately. But I still respect Monk and all of the amazing things he did to help evolve music.
RATING:
Thelonious Monk - "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are"
ReplyDeleteStandout track from the album Brilliant Corners (1957)
Album 10 of 1001 Albums You Must Hear
Much of this album seems experimental, but it was more accessible than I expected. And it was never boring, it held my interest throughout. The second track is going on my favorites playlist, very cool stuff (before the weird bass solo at the end, but that may grow on me, who knows). Parts of the album were challenging, though not unpleasant. Overall I liked it, and I think I would like it more if I heard more of this kind of music, or just listen to this again. I wouldn't mind seeing more picks like this where I get to discover new artists and styles of music - instead of nine albums from David Bowie, and a similar number from Neil Young when you include the bands he played in.