Monk needs to be sat down and listened to – his playing and writing puts him as far away from the typical stereotype of the cocktail bar pianist providing background music and “atmosphere.” It’s music which demands to be paid attention to. As the “weird guy” of the already fairly weird bop scene, Monk’s music take a fair bit more time to adapt to than either Charlie Parker or Dizzy Gillespie whose flashy virtuosity and (relatively) more accessible tunes endeared them much more quickly to critics and public. What is left of his legacy is well worth trying to get into. Monk was at the height of his powers at this point – within another ten years or so his psychological issues had worsened (some attributed this to misdiagnosis of drugs intended to help his problems) and he would sink into reclusiveness, rarely recording or performing. Then, just after you recover from that assault with Monk’s solo rendition of Just a Gigolo – the only non-Monk composition on the album – he takes you back into weird territory with the title track, which features some particularly engrossing and head-spinning piano playing, certainly Monk’s standout solo on the record. The stuttering rhythmic gait of Nutty matches the title, while on Blues Five Spot each member of the band is given an opportunity to show off his chops with a solo. The centrepiece is the wall-rattling 11-minute performance of the Monk standard In Walked Bud (ostensibly a tribute to that other great troubled bop pianist Bud Powell) which is dominated by Griffin’s wailing wall of sound. To my ears, however, Hodges’ machine-gun approach makes a nice match.
Many musicians, including Miles Davis, complained that Monk’s deeply unconventional relationship with rhythm made him a nightmare to play with. Griffin’s playing is fast and rhythmic – maybe it’s not as sonically innovative as John Coltrane (who partnered up with Monk for a number of recording sessions) but you can’t doubt the passion. And on "Misterioso," Monk's trademark blues, the pianist's stark harmonic juxtapositions preclude any hint of clich?d postures, as he and Griffin dig down deep into this timeless form.Recorded live at the Five Spot Cafe in August 1958 with his Quartet – Monk and Griffin as well as Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass and Roy Haynes on drums – the album sees the group steam through five of Monk’s angular compositions (as well as a solo piano spot on Just a Gigolo) over the audible sounds of clinking glasses and low level chattery. On the former, the pianist counters Griffin's own Monkisms with sly rhythmic abstractions of the tune's main thematic accents, which Haynes echoes in his solo. Of the remaining performances, "In Walked Bud" and the title tune generate the most collective heat. Even when the band drops away for another solo Griffin break, the counter-lines and cross-rhythms keep going in the listener's mind until Monk returns with fresh abstractions and a hint of stride. The multi-leveled "Let's Cool One" has a main theme and an equally important counter-line, and during their collective improvisation, Griffin and Monk manage to maintain this antiphonal balance of preacher and congregation. Which leads to an epic level of collective call-and-response throughout MISTERIOSO.
Also, if you listen to how he and Monk reprise the head (and introduce "Let's Cool One"), you'll note the saxophonist's ability to voice his lines in such a way as to suggest different saxophone ranges, and even multiple horns when playing in unison with the pianist. Like fellow tenor giant Sonny Rollins, Griffin understood the rhythmic impetus behind Monk's melodies, and his penchant for witty interpolations allowed him to work a ditty such as "The Sailor's Hornpipe" into the conclusion of his unaccompanied chorus. Listening to tenor virtuoso Johnny Griffin on "Blues Five Spot," it's clear that for him Monk's music was almost second nature. But the wit, wonder and vigorous interplay of this quartet enliven these performances to such a degree, it's impossible to discern what the big deal was about. When the quartet featured on MISTERIOSO was burning up the Five Spot back in 1958, they came under attack from fickle fans and critics, seemingly for no other reason than that they weren't the 1957 model (featuring John Coltrane, Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson).
Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews.ĭigitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1989, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).ĭigitally remastered using 20-bit K2 Super Coding System technology. Recorded live at The Five Spot Cafe, New York, New York on August 7, 1958. Thelonious Monk Quartet: Thelonious Monk (piano) Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone) Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass) Roy Haynes (drums).