- Daniel King, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 4, 2005



It came and went. Two giants of American music, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, together so briefly in 1957 -- an eight-month pairing that, until now, survived only in memory and on one pretty badly recorded tape.

So it's understandable that this discovery would rumble the jazz world: In January, a Library of Congress researcher found a musical treasure tucked in a cardboard box -- a "lost" recording by Coltrane and Monk made in 1957.

A resulting, near-pristine album, "Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall," released last week on Blue Note Records, captures 52 uptempo minutes. The researcher, Larry Appelbaum, found the material by accident while transferring tapes to digital files for preservation, he said by e-mail last week. He noticed the 10-inch acetate reels and saw, on one of them, the name "T. Monk."

Appelbaum played it and quickly recognized the sound of Monk's piano and Coltrane's saxophone. "I was stunned," he said.

Months later, Blue Note's president, Bruce Lundvall, landed the tapes' rights, and Monk's son, drummer T.S. Monk, became producer. "As soon as I heard it," Lundvall said, "I thought, 'My God, we have to have this.' "

The Carnegie Hall show was recorded by Voice of America, the broadcasting service, but never aired: The tapes were mislabeled and misfiled.

The date, Nov. 29, 1957, marks the liftoff of Coltrane's and Monk's careers. For six years beforehand, Monk, in his 30s, couldn't perform publicly in New York City because police had revoked his cabaret card after arresting him on false drug charges. But by 1957, he'd regained it.

Coltrane, 31, had left Miles Davis' quintet and, having struggled for an audience, badly needed the gig.

On the album, Monk and Coltrane are restless warriors. "Nutty" finds Coltrane climbing quickly through the registers with a big, loud sound. "Sweet and Lovely" gives us Monk's banging, stop-and-go rhythms. Together, they would change the course of rhythm and harmony in jazz.

The biggest difference between this album and the other one from 1957, "Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane," is audio quality and song choice: The earlier one includes "Ruby My Dear," "Trinkle, Tinkle" and "Functional." The audio quality here is more balanced.

Weaknesses? Not really, although Coltrane does rely a bit on his familiar phrases. Still, he thrills, and it's that creativity that led Blue Note's president to distribute the album -- that, and the excitement any new document of Monk and Coltrane's collaboration is sure to generate among fans.

Coltrane died in 1967, Monk in 1982.

"First and foremost, it's the music," Lundvall said. "Every musician I've played it for has nearly jumped through the window."

Blue Note, in conjunction with Thelonious Records, did a smart thing by giving liner-note duties to a famously diverse group of writers: Amiri Baraka, who describes the music as a "political" aspect of African American culture; Ira Gitler, who does not; Stanley Crouch, who celebrates the "self-confidence" of Monk's music; and, among others, Lewis Porter, who writes passionately as a historian.

Questions remain. For instance, if these tapes could surface so abruptly from the Library of Congress, could others?

"Yes," Appelbaum said. "A discovery like this reminds us why it's so important to preserve these materials."

Lundvall agreed. "There's more Monk," he said. "There's more Clifford Brown, too. A lot more than I know about."

man thats a gig id love to have, researching tapes to convert to digital format.oh the stuff i'd find :)id never leave work if i had a gig like that im anxious to hear that Monk and trane tho'

..... I gotta hear this!



....

Isn't music just amazing.. there's always something new to hear.

CinisterCee said:

Always....



...

Played it on my show yesterday!!! Great CD, and if u r a fan of both of them....GET IT!!! It's a piece of history that should have been out.

JazzyJ said:

I just ordered it!

Jazz may be a bit too deep for some of these musicology hos..lol

A friend just told me about this on the phone the other day.
I immediately added it to one of my "Wish Lists".


tA


Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I bought and spun it today and it is a classic.

For those who like this one, I'd also recommend Charlie Parker Live At Storyville.

I dug the poster/bill on the back of the liner notes advertising a "Thanksgiving Jazz" concert around that same time. The lineup for that concert makes Woodstock look like a B2K tour.
[Edited 10/4/05 20:56pm]

B.E.T. (believe it or not ) just ran a short segment about this release. T.S. Monk and Ravi Coltrane were in it reminiscing over the days their fathers were performing/practicing with each other. If you true heads can catch it, it's worth it.

i'm sure you cats are familar with the fantasy release.

sinisterpentatonic said:

Which one? The Live Trane box set?

Stax said:

This one. i could've sworn this was released on Fantasy or Prestiege. That label has been passed around so many times aint no telling what it is now.

sinisterpentatonic said:

yep, that was recently reissued by Fantasy.
[Edited 10/4/05 22:09pm]