Thelonious Himself＜限定盤＞

NPRが「彼の名前を聞けば、20世紀で最も独創的で挑戦的な音楽を期待できる」と宣言したセロニアス・モンクの1975年重要なブレークスルー作品。

ベーシストのウィルバー・ウェアとサックス奏者のジョン・コルトレーンをフィーチャーした1曲を除けば、モンクひとり。その1曲「Monk's Mood」は、超越的な音の広がりで、音が徐々に部屋を包み込んでいく。アルバムの残りの部分は、思いがけないご馳走の宝庫だ。必要なときには規律正しく、意味があるときだけさりげなくピーコックする。ハイライトは、逃避的で切ない「April in Paris」や、9分間のオリジナル曲「Functional」だ。All Musicは、「モンクのためらいがちな歩幅と思慮深くも非常に予測不可能な飛行は、いつ聴いても評価。

〈パーソネル〉 Thelonious Monk(p) John Coltrane (ts on B- 4) Wilbur Ware (b on B-4)

On each of his first three recordings for Riverside, Thelonious Monk included a solo piano presentation, and for many listeners, these were the highlights of each recital. And so it was decided that Monk's fourth Riverside recording, Thelonious Himself, would be composed entirely of solo interpretations; well, almost. Like a great actor finding heretofore obscure layers of meaning in a familiar soliloquy, Monk takes familiar themes such as "April in Paris," "I Should Care," and "Almost Alone" and distills them down to a single essence. Where most pianists would simply expand upon the tune (or employ the chord changes as a showcase for their own variations), Monk keeps everything focused on thematic materials. For his final selection, "Monk's Mood," the pianist insisted on adding bassist Wilbur Ware and an up-and-coming tenor saxophonist named John Coltrane. By allowing them to italicize and expand upon his basslines and lead melody, Monk enabled listeners to zero in on the essence of his solo and ensemble styles.