Thelonious Monk Straight, No Chaser Super-Audio CD

This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players.

"I'm famous, ain't that a bitch." Thus opens the soundtrack of the only documentary on the life of Thelonious Sphere Monk. Monk is an immensely important figure in 20th century music, not only as a virtuoso jazz pianist, but also one of the most innovative composers of any musical form. Although far from comprehensive, the soundtrack nevertheless achieves a satisfying cross-section of Monk tunes, from the infectious clunkiness of "Pannonica" and "Trinkle, Tinkle" to the painfully beautiful blue tones of the aptly named "Ugly Beauty."

Interspersed with narration, as well as unreleased rehearsals and snatches of unguarded conversation gathered during the making of the film, these selections do an admirable job of capturing the complexity of Monk's life and music in fairly limited space. The biographical data provided in the narration, along with the accessible selections, makes the soundtrack an excellent introduction to Monk's larger body of work, while the inclusion of out-takes and audio snapshots of the man himself makes STRAIGHT NO CHASER desirable even to Monk connoisseurs.

This CD reissue of one of Thelonious Monk's most accessible (and commercially successful) albums differs greatly from the 1967 LP. Besides previously unavailable takes of Duke Ellington's "I Didn't Know About You," Monk's own "Green Chimneys" and the rare and exquisite piano solo "This Is My Story, This Is My Song," the CD includes previously unheard takes of three of the album's original six tracks. The time differences in these versions are substantial: the title track is lengthened by nearly a minute, the classic "We See" by 2:47 and "Japanese Folk Song (Kojo No Tsuki)" by a whopping 5:41. (For purists, Columbia reissued the original album on vinyl in 1998.) As always, the more Monk the better, but the added material is particularly welcome in this case, as STRAIGHT NO CHASER finds the pianist and his quartet partners--tenor Charlie Rouse, drummer Ben Riley and brilliant bassist Larry Gales--at the height of their considerable powers.

Original score composed by Thelonious Monk.

Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews and Charlotte Zwerin.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Recorded at Columbia Studios, New York, New York on November 14-15, 1966 and January 10, 1967. Originally released on Columbia (2651/9451). Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews.

Producer: Orrin Keepnews.

Reissue producers: Didier C. Deutsch and Darcy M. Proper.

Personnel: Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Larry Gales (bass); Ben Riley (drums).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Down Beat - 4.5 Stars - Very Good
JazzTimes (2/97, p.124) - "...consistent greatness..."