Thelonious Monk
Solo Monk

Hello to all the readers of this extraordinary site, the album I am going to talk about today is "Monk Solo" by the great "Crazy Sage", Thelonious Monk.

This is not just one of the many albums by the artist but one of the few jazz records that truly captures the spirit of this musical genre. The winning formula of this album is simplicity, the simplicity of the sound, just a very "muffled" piano and a voice in the background that does not sing, but rather whispers with a raw, deep voice. Music history tells us that this album was recorded in about an hour and without a set list, meaning Monk would have entered the recording room without a musical plan, but did everything on the spur of the moment. A jazz lover and a fan of Thelonious himself would recognize this album from a single note, the unmistakable style of the "Sage" is characterized by assonances, unmatched notes, constantly varying tempos, in short... only him.

A critical note on this album: the excessive improvisation of this record has made some songs too repetitive in tempo and tone. It’s certainly not the Monk of "Blue Monk", of "Around Midnight" but we certainly understood that even on his own, our Thelonious managed to make his mark, and he left enormous footprints in this musical genre ... Giancarlo Andreacchio