Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection

Rating: ★★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Ray Copeland (t)
Frank Foster (reeds)
Percy Heath (b)
Curley Russell (b)
Tommy Potter (b)
Max Roach (d)
Julius Watkins (frhn)
Thelonious Monk (p)
Sonny Rollins
Gary Mapp (b)
Arthur Taylor (d)
Art Blakey (d)

Label:

Craft Recordings/Prestige

May/2018

Catalogue Number:

00031 5LP

RecordDate:

15 October 1952-25 October 1954

Listening to music on 10-inch LPs, as opposed to treating them as lifestyle accessories, is rather like drinking craft beers – hence the name of the reissue label, no doubt. Having grown up around LPs, I have no nostalgia for them and, if you want to audition the present material in order of performance – rather than with an auto-changer – you have to re-load the turntable every 10 minutes! Besides, the album title is factually incorrect, since the famous December 1954 Bags' Groove session with Miles Davis was also initially released on two 10-inchers (PRLP196 and PRLP200). Having said all that, there may be a virtue in listening to this hallowed material – three trio sets and three with horns (two of those with the young Sonny Rollins) – in the way it was originally meted out to the public. Obvious care has been taken with the facsimile platters and of the booklet, while the sound reproduction is impressive. So perhaps there's something to be said for these new-fangled vinyl thingies, after all.

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