THELONIOUS MONK "Brilliant Corners" 1958 UK 1st PRESS
£
63
$
83
£ 63
Sold For
Mar 3, 2011
Sold Date
Feb 21, 2011
Start Date
£ 22
Start price
3
Number Of Bids
Great Britain
Country Of Seller
eBay
Auctioned at
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
THELONIOUS MONK "Brilliant Corners" 1958 UK 1st PRESS
LONDON *MONO*, SUPERB SOUND, BARELY BEEN PLAYED
THELONIOUS MONKBrilliant Corners
ORIGINAL LONDON/DECCA (LTZ-U 15097) FIRST *MONO* PRESSING (1958) OF THELONIOUS MONK'S CLASSIC "Brilliant Corners" LP - Recorded October 1956 in New York, this is the first UK release - AND IT'S IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION - BARELY BEEN PLAYED AND IT DELIVERS CLEAN, SHARP AND BRIGHT AUDIO THROUGHOUT WITH LITTLE TO FAULT
PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL WITH THE FIRST RED/SILVER LONDON "AMERICAN JAZZ RECORDING" LABELS
MATRIX: AUL - 702 - 1C / AUL - 703 - 1C
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/K and 1/U
THE LP IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL FULLY LAMINATED "HALF-MOON" FLIPBACK SLEEVE WHICH IS VERY THIN AND FLAT WITH LINER NOTES BY RAYMOND HORRICKS (DATED 1958)
AND COMES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL POLY-LINED, HEAVY DUTY INNER SLEEVE "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" WITH ALL TEXT PRINTED IN GREY/SILVER
MUSICIANS:
Thelonious Monk — piano; celeste on Pannonica
Ernie Henry — alto saxophone on Brilliant Corners, Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are and Pannonica
Sonny Rollins — tenor saxophone
Oscar Pettiford — double bass on Brilliant Corners, Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are and Pannonica
Max Roach — drums; timpani on Bemsha Swing
Clark Terry — trumpet on Bemsha Swing
Paul Chambers — double bass on Bemsha Swing
Although Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third disc for Riverside, it's the first on the label to weigh in with such heavy original material.
Enthusiasts who become jaded to the idiosyncratic nature of Monk's playing or his practically arithmetical chord progressions should occasionally revisit Brilliant Corners. There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song.
The assembled quartet for the lion's share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax).
Although a compromise, the selection of Miles Davis' bassist, Paul Chambers, and Clark Terry (trumpet) on "Bemsha Swing" reveals what might be considered an accident of ecstasy, as they provide a timeless balance between support and being able to further the cause musically.
Likewise, Roach's timpani interjections supply an off-balanced sonic surrealism while progressing the rhythm in and out of the holes provided by Monk's jackrabbit leads.
It's easy to write Monk's ferocity and ingenuity off as gimmick or quirkiness. What cannot be dismissed is Monk's ability to translate emotions into the language of music, as in the freedom and abandon he allows through Sonny Rollins' and Max Roach's mesmerising solos in "Brilliant Corners."
The childlike innocence evoked by Monk's incorporation of the celeste during the achingly beautiful ode "Pannonica" raises the emotional bar several degrees.
Perhaps more pointed, however, is the impassioned "I Surrender, Dear" -- the only solo performance on the album.
Brilliant Corners may well be considered the alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz. No serious jazz collection should be without it.
Track Listing:
Side One:
Brilliant Corners 7:45
Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are 13:07
Side Two:
Pannonica 8:50
I Surrender, Dear 5:27
Bemsha Swing 7:40
LABELS: The labels are clean, bright and unmarked with just one or two light spindle traces - this copy has seen very, very little play - NEAR MINT
VINYL Visual: The vinyl surfaces retain their original deep, like new glossy sheen. There are one or two light brush marks (which seem to be within the vinyl itself) and some later light marks but these are very minor and have little audio consequence - this is a very nice copy indeed - visually EXCELLENT
VINYL Audio: Superb MONO cut with a crystal clear, deep, rich and fresh sound - beautifully recorded and engineered and on playback at a loud volume there are no scratches, no loud clicks or pops and no surface noise - it plays just about as quietly as you could wish for. There are some occasional, intermittent light 'ticks' (2/3 at the beginning of the first track) but these are only background and are nothing I found at all intrusive otherwise, beautifully clean playback. There is also the common 'clipping' on the the higher struck chords of the solo piano on "I Surrender, Dear" - this is not groove-wear from excessive play (this copy has seen little of that) and as I haven't heard an original London MONO pressing which doesn't play without this "fault" I will still grade this copy a strong EXCELLENT for audio - in my opinion, just about as good as it gets
SLEEVE: The original fully laminated flipback sleeve is also in great condition. Clean, fresh and unmarked with just a little record impression and a patch of laminate lift to the back opening edge (please see close-up photos) but as this cover is now over 50 years old it has survived remarkably well - EXCELLENT
The original inner is in EXCELLENT+ condition - unmarked with no splits
PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS
PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc
POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: £4.00 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £6.00 or £11.00 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £10.00 or £15.00 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 MUST be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR outside of the UK
UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: I try to be as accurate and honest as possible when describing the condition of any LP but of course if you feel that I am mistaken and the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.
ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT.
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NAGAOKA ANTI-STATIC INNER SLEEVES, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks 420 (GS 6.0.8 (420)) On 24-Feb-11 at 22:24:33 GMT, seller added the following information:
I have had several requests for more information on the "clipping" mentioned above. This occurs in four or five points on the solo piano when Monk bashes out loud chords. It sounds like distortion/groove-wear from excessive play - which of course it can't be as the record has only been played a few times. I have heard similar faults on others copies of this particular pressing and can only put it down to a pressing fault. To my ears it sounds awful and would always pass over this particular track but I am sure any collectors already know about this. The rest of the album however sounds great
price rating
