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Thelonious Monk: Monk's Mood

By Geno Thackara
May 3, 2025
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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.

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Book addict, arts/theater enthusiast and insatiable musicologist, almost in that order

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