1957-58 were most productive years for Monk. He and Griffin came to record for the first time with Griffin’s sextet in February 1958 and in May he made up a quartet with Clark Terry for one of Terry’s best albums.
Monk had the happiest of relations with the owner of the Five Spot Café and worked there from July 1957 (when Griffin joined the quartet) until October 1958 when he and Nica de Koenigswarter were arrested on drugs charges and Monk lost his cabaret card (again).
The numbers by Monk included here (Gigolo is the only outsider) probably make up the greatest body of jazz composition outside Ellington. In addition, Monk never failed to create fresh reworkings and, coupled with Griffin’s eloquence, these tracks are unchallenged as jazz classics.
Johnny was a happy replacement for the recently gone Coltrane, and his displays of lightning articulation are unmatched anywhere. He was a founder and epitome of hard bop. Although always dazzling he fitted perfectly into Monk’s group and all of these tracks are perfect, with little to choose between them. As always Rhythm-A-Ning inspires the composer, but Blues Five Spot, Nutty and In Walked Bud are among the minor miracles.
Discography
CD1: (1) Light Blue; Coming On The Hudson; Rhythm-A-Ning; (4) Just A Gigolo; (1) Blue Monk; Evidence; Epistrophy; Nutty; Blues Five Spot; Let’s Cool One; In Walked Bud (74.54)
CD2: (1) Misterioso; Epistrophy; Evidence; Blues Five Spot; In Walked Bud/Epistrophy; (4) Sweet Stranger; (2) ’Round Midnight; (3) Bye-Ya/Epistrophy; (5) Coming On The Hudson (69.23)
(1) Johnny Griffin (ts); Monk (p); Ahmed-Abdul Malik (b); Roy Haynes (d). Five Spot, NYC, 7 August 1958. (2) same, 9 July 1958. (3) Art Blakey (d) replaces Haynes, 9 July 1958. (4) Monk (p). (5) Donald Byrd (t); Johnny Griffin (ts); Pepper Adams (bar); Monk (p); Wilbur Ware (b); Philly Joe Jones (d). NYC, 25 February 1958.
Essential Jazz Classics EJC55782
