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Brilliant Corners

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Brilliant Corners was Thelonious Monk's third album for Riverside and the first there of his own compositions. It came about in three sessions in October and December 1956 with two different quintets, including Sonny Rollins, Ernie Henry, Oscar Pettiford and Max Roach. The title piece proved so complicated that the band needed twenty-five takes without managing a complete version. Producer Orrin Keepnews edited the final recording together from several takes. On Pannonica the pianist plays celesta.

The structure of the title piece differs from both the usual song form and the blues: an A section of eight bars, a B section of seven and an altered A section of seven, with a double tempo in every second chorus. DownBeat called it the most acclaimed jazz record of 1957. The album has been added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry and was later seen as the pianist's return as a composer of the first rank.

Listening

Listening tip. In Pannonica, listen to the sound of the celesta that Monk plays himself and that makes this piece sound different from the rest of the album.

Track list

  1. 1Brilliant Corners (feat. Sonny Rollins & Ernie Henry)7:48Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (feat. Sonny Rollins & Ernie Henry)13:19Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Pannonica (feat. Sonny Rollins & Ernie Henry)8:53Apple Music ↗
  4. 4I Surrender Dear5:28Apple Music ↗
  5. 5Bemsha Swing (feat. Sonny Rollins & Clark Terry)7:44Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Pannonica (feat. Sonny Rollins & Ernie Henry) [Incomplete]2:34Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs