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These late-'40s recordings are culled from Thelonious Monk's first recording sessions as a leader. The components of the pianist-composer's singular style were firmly in place: the cubist pianism, spiky melodicism, edgy wit, and profound sense of time, accent, and sonority. In the main, trio numbers like the haunting "Ruby My Dear" or the quirky recasting of Gershwin's "Nice Work If You Can Get It" come off best. The cuts with horns, on the other hand, seem artfully cluttered and unsettled in comparison to the cohesion and purposefulness of Monk's magnificent Riverside recordings from the '50s--all of them collected on the magisterial 15-CD Complete Riverside Recordings box set. Still and all, Monk's Blue Notes sound better than ever in these remasterings from the best source material extant. --Jed Distler

• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
• Product Dimensions : 5.5 x 4.94 x 0.45 inches; 2.82 ounces
• Manufacturer : Blue Note Records
• Date First Available : February 10, 2007
• Label : Blue Note Records
• Number of discs : 1