Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane - Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

One of the most important jazz events took place at the end of 1957 at the Five Spot, the popular jazz club in New York's East Village. Thelonious Monk's quartet performed here with John Coltrane on tenor saxophone. The music Monk made with Coltrane quickly became legendary. Although the group was only together for six months, it was described as electrifying by those who were lucky enough to see them play. The recordings on "Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane" are more by Monk than Coltrane - Monk was under contract to Riverside at the time - and include three quartet pieces with Wilbur Ware on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums, plus two more from the sessions for the famous album "Monk's Music". The seven LPs released in "The Riverside Tenor Sessions" series remain among the greatest achievements of a truly golden age. Recorded and released between 1956 and 1961, these seven albums by the Monk combo were instrumental in helping Monk achieve his status at the top of the jazz pantheon after a decade of ridicule and neglect. 

Personnel: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Curtis Fuller (trombone); Kenny Drew (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums). Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on September 15, 1957. Originally released on Blue Note (81577). Includes liner notes by Robert Levin and Bob Blumenthal.