Art Blakey - Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk

180g COLORED RED VINYL - THE COMPLETE LP + 2 BONUS TRACKS. This album marks Thelonious Monk's only recording as a member of Art Blakey's celebrated Jazz Messengers.

the music retains an uncanny freshness after fifty years. - **** The Penguin Guide to Jazz

The pianist and drummer were remarkably close friends who understood each other well on both a personal and musical level. In fact, Blakey was present on both Monk's first and last studio sessions, spanning a period of 24 years from the 1947 quintet and trio recordings to the last sets taped in London in 1971, when Blakey and Monk were touring with the group called the Giants of Jazz.

Except for Johnny Griffin's Purple Shades, all the compositions on this album are classic Thelonious Monk tunes.

Both use simple materials, yet the inner complexities are astonishing, and the music retains an uncanny freshness after fifty years. - **** The Penguin Guide to Jazz