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Have you Heard MONK at the IT club on Mosaic LP?

The recent vinyl remaster and reissue of the Thelonious Monk Quartet at the "IT" club presents some interesting audio peculiarities...in the re-recording and remastering of the original live tapes for this box set the tenor saxophone of Charlie Rouse was found to be off mic and back in the original mix CBS/Sony used for their LP and CD releases.I have the cd and Rouse is back and off mic,one hears that and lives with it as a live music imperfection.If you listen to a lot of live recordings you value the integrity of the performance more than the actual recorded sound. When Mosaic went to remaster these tapes it appears they isolated the actual track the tenor saxophone appears on and "brought it up" in the mix of the recording.
As well as the increased volume of the saxophone there is a constant thumping,on the beat,in my mind it is the foot of Monk,keeping time.Having had the pleasure of seeing Monk at least three times,and sitting very close to the piano,i could not help but notice his foot going crazy.
The "IT" club probably had a wooden stage and this foot pounding must have been picked up by one or two of the recording microphones.And there it is on the records on this set,thump thump thump.... Have you heard this,any comments? Great music by a great band! Thump thump thump...
jazzcourier
6 responses Add your response
grimace
624 posts
 
The Black Lion's are excellent - at least after they trimmed his finger nails so you couldn't hear them on the keys.

I don't think its naive to suggest that the Rouse lineup got stale. A lot of the playing reflects that. There is plenty of video of that era when the band looks like they are falling asleep.

I have the CD version of the IT Club recordings and the performance is uneven, with the second disc sounding far more energetic that the first, which approaches somnambulant in places - as though they're having trouble getting on the same page.

That the music is excellent - and it is - is, IMHO a testiment to how truely outstanding those earlier recordings were.

Naive would be to suggest that all of the performances are uniformly outstanding. No artist has that kind of track record.
oddmorning
44 posts
 
Grimace your assessment of these recordings is naive.

Of course the Blue Note recordings are ground breaking and the Riverside's show a focused mature artist.

The live working band recordings of Monk throughout the 60's are subtle, intense and sometimes wild and scary.... And these recordings presented in their entirety for the first time with the complete performances intact are beyond wonderful.

Also Monk's final trio recordings with Art Blakey and Al McKibbon ("Something in Blue" and "The Man I Love" on Black Lion)are as good as anything he ever recorded.... filled with humor and wisdom.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
Maybe not the greatest Monk on record, but a really worthwhile buy with the usual terrific Mosaic production and documentation. For a limited edition 4-LP boxed set, it won't be available long at the current $100, IMHO. Dave
grimace
624 posts
 
The book is REALLY good. Strongly suggested reading. The IT Club dates are good, but - like the Rouse lineup in general - not Monk's peak performance. Some of it sounds stale, like they're just playing through it. Give me the 40s Blue Notes and the 50s Riversides and Prestiges any day.
jazzcourier OP
205 posts
 
Yes,the Kelley bio came out in October-published by Simon and Schuster.Just over 600 pages-may well be the longest Jazz bio yet.Have not seen it yet.Authorized Sonny Rollins bio is due out in the Spring.Just for the record the Mosaic Monk collection presents at least one unissued tune,a host of unissued "themes" and unedited performances and a bunch of bass solos restored AND.....an insistent thumping.You can see Monk in "The sound of Jazz" from,i believe 1959 or late '58-he is thumping away with that foot.
jazdoc
365 posts
 
I have this collection and it is outstanding. The band is in peak form and they really seem to enjoy playing together. The liner notes by Mosaic mention that they re-equalized some of the instruments, in particular Charlie Rouse's tenor. They compliment the quality of the recording but note that Rouse was often off mike, so they made the decision to re-equalize.

How lucky to have heard Monk live three times. Have you read the new biography by Robin Kelley? Excellent biography and a must have for a Monk fan.
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