To say that Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane were jazz innovators is a vast understatement. Pianist Monk and sax player Coltrane revolutionized music, adding a measure of soulful, spiritual rhythms that exposed the African heritage of jazz. They knew each other well, and considered each other mentors. However, they only played together for a brief residency during the late spring and summer of 1957 at the now fabled Five Spot Café in New York City.
The Complete Riverside Recordings is a precious archive of studio output created during the Five Spot residency. What one finds here is an intimate portrait of how two demi-gods of jazz created an intimate connection between their individual geniuses, melding their thirst in a quest to achieve the ultimate musical high.
There is no doubt that they achieved that high and much more. The structural complexity of Monk’s compositions, along with Coltrane’s marvelous fingering of his alto and tenor saxes produce melodic chords that can sooth the most discriminating of jazz fans. Listening to Monk and Coltrane play is akin to watching a splendidly exotic rose open its petals to capture the warmth of a spring morning.
The two masters, along with backing musicians Wilbur Ware on bass, Ray Copland on trumpet, Gigi Grice on alto sax, Coleman Hawkins producing amazing harmonies with Coltrane on tenor sax, plus Art Blakey and Shadow Wilson on drums, is among the tightest units of jazz musicians ever conceived. The trust within the group is intense, and the improvisations on Monk’s themes defy any superlatives critics attempt to label them with.
This is an album resplendent with dense, luxuriant tones that transports the listener far away from the ordinary world. The music on The Complete Riverside Recordings will clue jazz novices in on what all the fuss is about — it’s exalted lovemaking as compared to average sex.
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