Thelonious Monk - The Complete Prestige Recordings (2000)

Tracklist

CD1:

Coleman Hawkins
01. Flyin' Hawk (2:51)
02. Recollections (2:56)
03. Drifting on a Reed (3:06)
04. On the Bean (2:43)
Thelonious Monk
05. Bye-Ya (2:47)
06. Monk's Dream (3:07)
07. Sweet and Lovely (3:36)
08. Little Rootie Tootie (3:07)
09. Bemsha Swing (3:12)
10. Reflections (2:49)
11. These Foolish Things (2:49)
12. Trinkle, Tinkle (2:51)
13. Think of One (take 1) (5:41)
14. Let's Call This (5:08)
15. Think of One (take 2) (5:47)
Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins
16. Friday the 13th (10:36)

CD2:

Thelonious Monk
01. We See (5:18)
02. Locomotive (6:24)
03. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (4:33)
04. Hackensack (5:13)
05. Nutty (5:19)
06. Just a Gigolo (3:03)
07. Work (5:19)
08. Blue Monk (7:39)
Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins
09. I Want to Be Happy (7:46)
10. The Way You Look Tonight (5:15)
Sonny Rollins
11. More Than You Know (10:53)

CD3:

Miles Davis
01. Bags' Groove (take 1) (11:11)
02. Bemsha Swing (9:34)
03. The Man I Love (take 1) (8:32)
04. Swing Spring (10:46)
05. Bags' Groove (take 2) (9:19)
06. The Man I Love (take 2) (7:57)

Thelonious Monk was only with Prestige from 1952-1954, which explains why Fantasy's The Complete Prestige Recordings contains only three CDs. But Monk's Prestige output is noteworthy and generally rewarding, if imperfect at times. Not everything on The Complete Prestige Recordings is essential, but for the serious Monk collector, its rewards are great. The set gets off to an interesting start with four 1944 recordings from a Coleman Hawkins session. The material originally came out on the small Joe Davis label, but these performances are historically important because they marked the first time Monk was recorded as a sideman, and the first time that Prestige founder Bob Weinstock was exposed to Monk. The set then fast forwards to Monk's Prestige period, when he led various trios and quintets and was employed as a sideman by Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. All of disc three is devoted to 1954's historic Davis/Monk encounter; unfortunately, Davis and Monk's egos clashed, but that didn't prevent them from delivering memorable performances. The Complete Prestige Recordings isn't for casual listeners, but it has a lot more ups than downs, and is enthusiastically recommended to serious jazz collectors.~Alex Henderson