Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
| Thelonious Alone in San Francisco | ||||
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| Live album by Thelonious Monk | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Riverside Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
10/11 |
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running time |
39:59 (LP) |
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Studio (s) |
Fugazi Hall in San Francisco |
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Thelonious Alone in San Francisco is an album by Thelonious Monk . The recordings, which were made at two concerts by the pianist in the so-called Fugazi Hall in San Francisco on October 21 and 22, 1959, were released in 1959 as a long-playing record and in 2011 as a compact disc with Riverside Records, expanded by a title . The product of Monk's first guest performance in San Francisco is considered one of the pianist's best records, wrote Bendetto Colagiovanni. The album encompasses many of the aspects "that made Monk a canon in the world of jazz piano : dazzling technique, sensitive melodic interpretations, carefully crafted improvisations and rich creative compositions."
background
Alone in San Francisco was Monk's second solo album after Thelonious Himself (1957) for the Riverside Records label , to which Monk had been under contract since 1957. In the Club Fugazi , a small theater and night club in North Beach, San Francisco Thelonious Monk was two days solo concerts. Ten titles were recorded. As was usual for him, he presented a selection from his extensive catalog, both cover versions and some new compositions.
"Bluehawk" and "Round Lights" were improvised blues numbers that were only released in the versions recorded here. The other Monk compositions, "Blue Monk" (1954), " Ruby, My Dear " (1947) and "Pannonica" (1956), were already known from earlier recordings. Supplemented by the bonus track There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie (Take 1) , the album was released on compact disc in 2011.
Track list
- Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (Riverside Records - RLP 12-312)
A1 Blue Monk (Monk) 3:41
A2 Ruby, My Dear (Monk) 3:55
A3 Round Lights (Monk) 3:33
A4 Everything Happens to Me ( Matt Dennis ) 5:35
A5 You Took the Words Right Out of My Heart ( Leo Robin , Ralph Rainger ) 3:58
B1 Bluehawk (Monk) 3:37
B2 Pannonica (Monk) 3:48
B3 Remember ( Irving Berlin ) 2:36
B4 There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie ( Harry Richman , Jack Meskell , Pete Wendling ) 4:17
B5 Reflections (Monk ) 5:03
reception
Lindsay Planer said in Allmusic , “What strikes most immediately about these recordings is the rich and accurate soundscape of the Fugazi Hall.” It is also regrettable that the playful loneliness of “Round Lights” Monk never picked up again later: this freeform composition be framed in a blues structure and still show the slightly crooked freedom of a Monk original. The interpretation of an old hit from the 1920s, "There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie", is another highlight by Thelonious Alone in San Francisco , which Monk never took up again. “The noir qualities are immeasurably enhanced by Monk's weird phrases and the spooky reverberation of the fugazi.” The record is an absolute must - whether you are a Monk enthusiast or not, said Planer.
In the opinion of the Monk biographer Thomas Fitterling, the second Riverside solo album is not unlike the previous album Thelonious Himself : “Here, too, the standards are presented rubato without any haste or haste , but in their implementation the beat is clearly marked by playing around and thus approximating recordings of the Paris solo album without appearing brittle and relentless. ”Fitterling sums up that it would have been good for the diversity of the record if, in addition to the prevailing ballad tempo, there would also have been committed faster tempos; nevertheless this solo album is more compact and gripping than Thelonious Himself .
Colin McGuire wrote in Pop Matters in 2011 that according to some people, Thelonious Alone in San Francisco was the best record Thelonious Monk had ever made. Because it is a portrait of relaxation - a high point of what it could be like to just sit around and watch a master work alone with his craft. There are even people who believe that Thelonious Alone in San Francisco is one of the greatest jazz music recordings ever because of its detailed journey into such incomparable musical thinking and the raw atmosphere in which the element of intimacy becomes tangible every time it is listened to . But wherever Thelonious Alone would ultimately be sorted in San Francisco is irrelevant to him. This album is above all a lesson in composition. It is lessons in craftsmanship and lessons in expression. Monk had “talked to himself” throughout the album, but hardly suspected that “these ideas would lead to something as beautiful, interesting, masterful and inspiring as to the pieces that appear on this masterpiece on a record.” It was a matter of fact a conversation we all long for when interacting with others. The album proves that it was a conversation "that this legend could easily ignite if she happened to be alone with a piano."
Understanding Monk as an artist must begin with understanding his complete control over his instrument, an element that is remarkably accessible to the listener in the solo piano environment revealed by this album, wrote Bendetto Colagiovanni. Despite rumors that have followed him throughout his career claiming that he lacks classical training and clean technique, Monk's mastery of the piano is being shown in all its glory on Alone in San Francisco . He flirted with step elements, faded out with dizzying arpeggios , set off phrases with definite boundaries and used the entire range of the instrument. Monk's performance is "multi-dimensional". It is more than just technical ability that he exhibits. Monk has full control over the wide range of emotions that jazz tradition offers him: he provokes the piano to cry just as easily on a ballad as he lets it stroll and brag on a blues . "The resulting product is an extremely powerful and powerful listening experience that deserves repeated listening."
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Benedetto Colagiovanni: Thelonius Monk, Alone in San Francisco: A Critical Review. Art Facts Journal, May 6, 2019, accessed February 19, 2020 .
- ↑ 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd, San Francisco
- ↑ a b Review of the album at Allmusic (English). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ↑ Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (CD) at Discogs
- ↑ Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco at Discogs
- ↑ Thomas Fitterling: Thelonious Monk. His life, his music, his records. Oreos, Waakirchen 1987, ISBN 3-923657-14-5 .
- ^ Colin McGuire: Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco . Pop Matters, November 10, 2011, accessed February 19, 2020 .