Thelonious Monk - Live in Rotterdam 1967 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

By the mid-1960s, European touring had become a routine familiar to many of jazz's most well-known practitioners. Piano/composer Thelonious Monk was already over two decades into his career when he began to visit Europe in earnest. Europeans were excited to experience Monk and his storied personality, often focusing as much on his appearance and idiosyncratic behavior ahead of the music. // The of Bremen 1965 finds the legend on his second tour to feature stops in Germany with his seasoned quartet featuring his longtime saxophone foil, Charlie Rouse, along with bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley. Bremen, Germany was the second stop on the quartet's world tour, which would include much of Europe, Australia, and Japan. The recording was made on March 8, 1965, in Radio Bremen's storied Sendesaal / Studio F in front of an anticipative audience. Bremen 1965 is the first official of the concert, mastered from the original tapes held in the Radio Bremen vaults under the guidance and blessings of Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Radio Bremen, and T.S. Monk. The will be available in a handful of formats, including digitally along with double CD and LP record sets. Included with the physical releases is a researched set of liner notes from Sunnyside's Bret Sjerven.The recording catches Monk just after some notable transitions. The pianist left his former tag, Riverside Records, for Columbia Records, where his most recent , It's Monk's Time, was fresh off the presses when the quartet arrived in Europe in 1965. There had also been a change in the rhythm section, as bassist John Ore and drummer Frankie Dunlop had been replaced by Larry Gales and Ben Riley, who would both appear on Monk's next studio recording, Monk. The long performance captures unique takes of Monk classics, like InchCriss Cross, Inch InchWell You Needn't, Inch InchEpistrophy, Inch and InchRhythm-a-nin

A Newly Unearthed and Fully Restored Recording of Thelonious Monk's 1967 Paris Concert - Long Considered One of the Most Elusive Performances of his European TourThis marks the first official from the Monk Estate. Monk Live in Paris, 1967 Volume One will be Available on 180-Gram Vinyl on April 24, 2026, via the Thelonious Monk Estate's Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment Captured at the Height of Monk's Creative Powers, this Historic Performance Showcases the Pianist and Composer with His Classic Quartet Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone), Larry Gales (bass), and Ben Riley (drums)For it's first 70 years, the profound art of jazz made originality, singularity and unrestricted vision prime requisites of it's expression - not just in musicality, but also in personality, image, style and demeanor. The unparalleled composer/pianist/visionary Thelonious Sphere Monk epitomized every aspect of this in exponential form. As a result, he occupies a unique position in the Jazz Pantheon. Every aspect of this extraordinary man epitomizes jazz expression at it's most compelling level. His visual presence - his headwear, his glasses, his sartorial style - matched with his remarkably profound verbal statements, the way he danced around the piano during other musicians' solos; and even more importantly, his brilliant compositions that are both starkly angular, yet gorgeously lyrical, and matched by his piano playing which made dissonance and fractured rhythms so utterly delightful, make Thelonious Monk stand out dynamically even amidst his other transcendent peers. Capitalizing on all of this, the Monk Estate is launching a comprehensive plan to launch a new ongoing series of archival recordings under it's authorized control of material that has been circulated for years as bootlegs - and is doing so with clever brand marketing that will further express the legendary presence and spirit of

In 1998, we released a limited 500 vinyl pressing of this great early 90's Pacific Northwest Psychedelic band. They came to my attention through a tape sent to me and, immediately upon listening to it, I was in awe of how much their music sounded like it came straight from the 1960's twangy guitars with lots of reverb and wah-wah, haunting farfisa organ, pulsating bass rifts, great harmonics, and and fantastic drums!! In addition to the original 12 tracks, the band guys have dug up 10 more tracks.