Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (Limited Edition 12-Inch Album on 180g Grey Marble Vinyl)

This hand-numbered release is limited to just 250 copies.

Released on 4 April 1957, Brilliant Corners was Thelonious Monk’s third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions.

There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision.

The assembled quartet for the lion’s share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass) and Ernie Henry (alto sax). Roach’s timpani interjections supply an off-balanced sonic surrealism while progressing the rhythm in and out of the holes provided by Monk’s jackrabbit leads. It’s easy to write Monk’s ferocity and Forrest Gump-esque ingenuity off as gimmick or quirkiness. What cannot be dismissed is Monk’s ability to translate emotions into the language of music, as in the freedom and abandon he allows through Rollins’ and Roach’s mesmerizing solos in Brilliant Corners. The childlike innocence evoked by Monk’s incorporation of the celeste during the achingly beautiful ode Pannonica raises the emotional bar several degrees. Perhaps more pointed, however, is the impassioned I Surrender, Dear –  the only solo performance on the album.

Brilliant Corners may well be considered the alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz. No serious jazz collection should be without it.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Brilliant Corners (7:45)
2. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (13:09)

Side Two

1. Pannonica (8:51)
2. I Surrender, Dear (5:28)
3. Bemsha Swing (7:43)

Format: Vinyl / 12” Album (Coloured Vinyl)

Label: Second Records

Catalogue No: SRPD0026ME

Barcode: 9003829978377

Release Date: 20 Oct 2023