Thelonious Monk - Paris 1969 LP

Thelonious Monk’s Paris 1969 is a fascinating late-career document of the legendary jazz pianist and composer in performance at the Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris, France on December 15, 1969 with a quartet line-up featuring his longtime tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse with bassist Nate Hygelund and drummer Paris Wright. After a series of tour dates throughout Europe the band was in fine form by the time they reached the Pleyel, which made for a triumphant return for Monk to the very stage he had made his Parisian debut on in 1954 in front of a hostile audience who felt that Monk was too avant-garde. 15 years later the situation could not have been more different with an enthusiastic audience cheering him on. In addition to rollicking Quartet versions of Monk classics such as “I Mean You,” “Straight No Chaser,” and “Blue Monk,” the set also includes three stunning solo piano performances on “Don’t Blame Me,” “I Love You Sweetheart Of All My Dreams,” and “Crepuscule With Nellie.” However, an undeniable highlight of the concert was when the veteran drummer Philly Joe Jones, who was an expat living in Paris at the time, comes from backstage to borrow the sticks from the 17-year-old Wright, providing a palpable spark on Monk’s “Nutty.”

Tracklist: 

A1: I Mean You 
A2: Ruby My Dear 

B1: Straight, No Chaser 
B2. Bright Mississippi 
B3: Light Blue
 
Disc 2
C1: Epistrophy  
C2: Dont Blame Me 
C3: I Love You Sweetheart Of All My Dreams 

D1: Bright Mississippi (Reprise) 
D2: Nutty 
D3: Blue Monk