At Newport 1963 & 1965 (Live)

Thelonious Monk's 1963 Newport Jazz Festival set has been released in whole or part on several different Columbia releases, but this 2002 reissue is the best version yet. One finally gets to hear nothing but Monk on this edition, with the added bonus of a previously unreleased and undocumented appearance from the 1965 festival. The earlier material, with Charlie Rouse, Butch Warren, and Frankie Dunlop, is already very familiar to serious Monk devotees, particularly the inspired addition (due to the suggestion of festival producer George Wein) of clarinetist Pee Wee Russell on two songs. Russell's dissonant lines fit right in, and it is unfair to criticize him for temporarily losing his footing when Monk suddenly ducks out of "Nutty" in the middle of his guest's solo, since there were no rehearsals prior to the performance and it was also unlikely (but not impossible) that Russell was very familiar with Monk's recordings. Russell has no problems during "Blue Monk," a more straightforward blues that seems to inspire the veteran, who is usually lumped into Dixieland or Chicago-style jazz, even though his approach to the instrument seemed to stretch beyond those boundaries. Monk's quartet versions of "Criss Cross," "Light Blue," and "Epistrophy" are all first rate. Bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley join Monk and Rouse for the relatively brief 35-minute set from 1965, with a long but impassioned "Off Minor" standing out from the remainder of the performance. It's hard to say that this previously unavailable music breaks any new ground, as Monk is documented on stage within a number of earlier Columbia discs. While this two-CD set isn't the best place for a newcomer to jazz to start, true Monk fanatics will want to add this release to their libraries.