Home » Jazz Articles » Play This! » Thelonious Monk: Monk's Mood

Thelonious Monk: Monk's Mood

By Geno Thackara
May 3, 2025
View read count

Thelonious Himself (Riverside, 1957) was a perfectly suitable title for a solo album showcasing the quirky essence of Thelonious Monk. It may forever be a mystery as to why he and/or producer Orrin Keepnews saw fit to add other players for the very last track, but whether it was out of place or not, we can be thankful to have another example of him playing alongside John Coltrane during their legendary but too-little-documented stint working together. Wilbur Ware contributes only the odd dash of bass punctuation, as if he got so absorbed listening to the masters that he barely saw a need to add any more. Well, we can hardly blame him.

Contact Geno Thackara on All About Jazz.
Book addict, arts/theater enthusiast and insatiable musicologist, almost in that order

Contribute to Play This! Recommend a favorite song, album, or performance and we'll share it with your fellow All About Jazz readers. Submit it here.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Antoine Fafard, The Hypersonic Facto...
< Previous

Pokaz Trio: Voices
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.