Monk at the Jazz Workshop and in Tokyo

[Guy Berger]

I'm going through a pretty big Monk swing right now, and am wondering about these two 2CD live sets (that are now OOP in the US). Are they essential? How do they compare to Live at the It Club? Should I get the studio Columbia albums first (I have only Monk's Dream, which I like but is somewhat low on my favorite Monk list)? How do they compare in importance to the Riverside live sets w/Johnny Griffin, or the Town Hall big band set (which I am a little wary of)?

Guy

[felser]

I'm going through a pretty big Monk swing right now, and am wondering about these two 2CD live sets (that are now OOP in the US). Are they essential? How do they compare to Live at the It Club? Should I get the studio Columbia albums first (I have only Monk's Dream, which I like but is somewhat low on my favorite Monk list)? How do they compare in importance to the Riverside live sets w/Johnny Griffin, or the Town Hall big band set (which I am a little wary of)?

Guy

One man's opinion: If you like Rouse with Monk (I do), go for them. The Riversides with Griffin come before any of the Columbia's and almost anything else in his catalog except a couple of the Riversides with Trane and Rollins. The Town Hall is a little sloppy in places to my ears, but interesting. I'd go for the live Columbia's ahead of them, and ahead of the studio Columbia's. The live Columbia's tend to have the usual Monk material more, and the studio's have some more unusual choices, but I much prefer hearing Monk play Monk than hearing him play standards.

[Dan Gould]

I'm going through a pretty big Monk swing right now, and am wondering about these two 2CD live sets (that are now OOP in the US). Are they essential? How do they compare to Live at the It Club? Should I get the studio Columbia albums first (I have only Monk's Dream, which I like but is somewhat low on my favorite Monk list)? How do they compare in importance to the Riverside live sets w/Johnny Griffin, or the Town Hall big band set (which I am a little wary of)?

Guy

Is this a question of what you "have to get next"?

Personally, I'd get them all eventually. Cast aside your wariness of the Town Hall date, its very good. It Club is also well worth having. Can't comment on Tokyo.

But assuming you dig Monk with Rouse, I'd definitely snap up the two live sets.

[jazzbo]

I didn't know those had fallen out of print!

I'd say get them, they're fantastic (the different drummers make them both differently great); hopefully you have the Blue Notes (my personal top picks) and of the studio Columbias, I really recommend the new Underground and It's Monk Time. . . .

[Quincy]

You can make it easier on yourself if you just figure on eventually getting almost everything, if not everything, over the course of a lifetime. If you do that then it's easier to buy what shows up used or on sale. Just make sure you eat right and take care of yourself. Given that however, better grab at least one of the live Columbia sets now! (I was stunned to see It Club was going OOP, as you'd think the cover shot alone would attract buyers.)

My favorite between It Club, Jazz Workshop and Tokyo changes, but most of the time I think Tokyo is my favorite of the 3. I happened to come across Jazz Workshop used, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten it just out of guilt that I should try other things. The only negative thing I can say about Tokyo is that the 2 discs combined are just barely over 80 minutes and then they put it in a quad case. But what it lacks in quantity it makes up for.

While it's semi-popular to give a little dig to the Columbia years vs. Blue Note/Riverside/Prestige, there are times when it feels like Rouse understood him better than anybody. When you feel that way too, go ahead and pick any Columbia you come across. For what's it's worth I like the other studio Columbias more than Monk's Dream too. Love the ones Lon suggests but also Monk & Straight, No Chaser too.

[Guy Berger]

I didn't know those had fallen out of print!

I'd say get them, they're fantastic (the different drummers make them both differently great); hopefully you have the Blue Notes (my personal top picks)

Yup, I have the Blue Notes and Prestiges. I also have 5 of the Riversides, which probably isn't enough.

Guy

[Dan Gould]

While it's semi-popular to give a little dig to the Columbia years vs. Blue Note/Riverside/Prestige, there are times when it feels like Rouse understood him better than anybody.

Couldn't agree more!

[jazzbo]

While it's semi-popular to give a little dig to the Columbia years vs. Blue Note/Riverside/Prestige, there are times when it feels like Rouse understood him better than anybody.

Couldn't agree more!

I definitely love Rouse with Monk . . . (and don't forget he's on Riversides too!). The Blue Notes get the edge for me though because of the first appearances of all those tunes and just the sheer inventiveness of Monk in comparison to almost anything else contemporaneous. I never tire of those sides!

I still haven't bought the US Live in Tokyo; I have a Japanese two cd version that came out befor the US version (and in a slimline double!)

[Spontooneous]

Love the Tokyo. Brilliant performances throughout.

The Jazz Workshop is a step or two down from the It Club. But get it for the deep-blue ballad performances. (Maybe everybody was sad that night.)

[Clunky]

Both are great sets. I feel the Monk Columbia material is perhaps a little undervalued on the whole. In reality if you have one of these sets then the others hold few additional revelations. But if you love Monk as I do ........

[mikeweil]

I Find the Tokyo set id one of the best sets of the Monk quartet with Frankie Dunlop - everybody was in great spirits.

Spontooneous' evaluation of the It Club vs. the Jazz Workshop is correct, but as Monk fan you wouldn't want to miss either ... if you can afford only one, go for the musically better. IIRC Monk was a little exhausted from a solo piano session before the slightly inferior set.

[king ubu]

Hm, I prefer the JWS over It Club, but JWS was the one I got first.

As for the Tokyo, I think I have the same japanese 2CD slimcase edition Lon has - a fine date, and Dunlop always makes a difference for me!

Both are not essential, I'd say, but both are good!

[king ubu]

This is how my Monk in Tokyo looks:

Edited September 23, 2006 by king ubu

[jazzbo]

Mine too Flurin.

[mikeweil]

I had both - the newer one on Legacy sounds considerably better!

[jazzbo]

You could have kept that information to yourself!

(And these sonic issues are so subjective!)

I may or may not seek a copy of the new one. . . .

Edited September 23, 2006 by jazzbo

[king ubu]

I decided some time ago not to upgrade this one, and I'll leave it at that...

[DanG]

Monk comes so many different ways- solo, trio, quartet, tentet. Or the different periods with different tenor saxmen. I am finding them all interesting, but I recently picked up the Monk Big Band and Quartet In Concert at the Philharmonic, and was blown away. I like this better than Town Hall. The tentet is voiced like Monk's piano, this was quite a successful evening.

I picked up the CD, the vinyl does not contain the complete concert, or full versions of some of the songs.

[Stereojack]

Monk comes so many different ways- solo, trio, quartet, tentet. Or the different periods with different tenor saxmen. I am finding them all interesting, but I recently picked up the Monk Big Band and Quartet In Concert at the Philharmonic, and was blown away. I like this better than Town Hall. The tentet is voiced like Monk's piano, this was quite a successful evening.

I picked up the CD, the vinyl does not contain the complete concert, or full versions of some of the songs.

This is one of my favorite Monk albums - sublime arrangements by Hall Overton. Loved it on vinyl, and was really happy to get the complete concert on CD.

[Chuck Nessa]

Monk comes so many different ways- solo, trio, quartet, tentet. Or the different periods with different tenor saxmen. I am finding them all interesting, but I recently picked up the Monk Big Band and Quartet In Concert at the Philharmonic, and was blown away. I like this better than Town Hall. The tentet is voiced like Monk's piano, this was quite a successful evening.

I picked up the CD, the vinyl does not contain the complete concert, or full versions of some of the songs.

This is one of my favorite Monk albums - sublime arrangements by Hall Overton. Loved it on vinyl, and was really happy to get the complete concert on CD.

I agree with the praise for Overton's charts on this terrific set and the Riverside Town Hall concert but want to point out the "genius" was Monk's. The "arrangements" are transcriptions of Monk solos/chords/comps for multiple instruments with individual (piano) notes assigned to wind instruments.

Overton was a fine "translator" but Monk is the MAN here.

[etherbored]

i'm going to weigh in a late-to-the-party response here with my vote for 'monk in tokyo'. there's a sparse and hard swing to this record, with rouse right out front, that earns it a place in my top 2 or 3 monk records. plus, imho, it's well recorded.

not to be missed,

-e-

[P.L.M]

Hm, I prefer the JWS over It Club, but JWS was the one I got first.

Just the contrary, here, FLURIN.

But AT THE IT CLUB was the one I got first (!) So...

[jazzbo]

I think I like It Club a bit more too. . . . I remember the weird reverby sound of the lps! They stripped all that for the recent expanded cd reissue, and it's much better for it! (The French CBS cds were from the lp masters and had that trippy sound).

[DMP]

Another vote for "It Club." Even though it was recorded around the same time as "At The Jazz Workshop," it's always seemed much more inspired

[king ubu]

Time to put It Club on top of the listening pile, it seems...