THELONIOUS MONK “Himself” RIVERSIDE LP 12-235 mono ’57 white lbl NM- Coltrane

$

193

Artist:  THELONIOUS MONK

Title:   “Thelonious Himself”

Label:   RIVERSIDE   # RLP 12-235.  Monaural pressing on medium weight vinyl.  White label with black text, with deep groove. 

Jacket address on reverse at bottom is “553 West 51st Street, New York 19, N. Y.”

Year:  1957. 

Personnel: 

Thelonious Monk – piano.

John Coltrane – tenor sax on “Monk’s Mood”

Wilbur Ware – bass on “Monk’s Mood”. 

Condition: 

DISC:  Vinyl is NM-.  A few very light paper scuffs that do not affect play.  Appears to have been played one or two times at most, and handled with care.  Labels are clean.  Fidelity is superb.  A gorgeous disc you will never need to upgrade.

JACKET:   Jacket is nice VG+.   Laminated front panel has light ring wear.  Reverse has darkening on some of the edges.  Bottom seam has approx 2” split at center.  A bit of minor wear at corner tips.  No writing, stickers, or cutout indications.  Overall a very fine jacket.             

Track Listing: 

Side One:

• April in Paris
• Ghost of a Chance
• Functional
• I’m Getting Sentimental Over You

Side Two:

• I Should Care
• ‘Round Midnight
• All Alone
• Monk’s Mood      

Review:

“On each of his first three recordings for Riverside, Thelonious Monk included a solo piano presentation, and for many listeners, these were the highlights of each recital.  And so it was decided that Monk's fourth Riverside recording, Thelonious Himself, would be composed entirely of solo interpretations; well, almost.  Like a great actor finding heretofore obscure layers of meaning in a familiar soliloquy, Monk takes familiar themes such as "April in Paris," "I Should Care," and "Almost Alone" and distills them down to a single essence.  Where most pianists would simply expand upon the tune (or employ the chord changes as a showcase for their own variations), Monk keeps everything focused on thematic materials.  For his final selection, "Monk's Mood," the pianist insisted on adding bassist Wilbur Ware and an up-and-coming tenor saxophonist named John Coltrane.  By allowing them to italicize and expand upon his basslines and lead melody, Monk enabled listeners to zero in on the essence of his solo and ensemble styles.”

(courtesy Rovi Staff, allmusic.com.)

Guaranteed to be original and authentic first pressing from 1957.  This is NOT a bootleg or modern reissue.

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