Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Thelonious Monk Available Now
Our notes for a recent shootout winning copy read:
Monk’s Dream returns to the site for only the second time in over two years, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them throughout this black print Stereo 360 pressing.
These are just a few of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “big and weighty”…”great size and detail and very full”…”breathy sax jumping out of the speakers”…”very big and full piano”
In our notes you can see that side one fell short in one area, space, but how would anyone know that who hadn’t played a copy with even more space than this one? That’s why we do shootouts and you must do them too.
Both of these sides are rich, spacious, big and Tubey Magical, with less smear on the piano, a problem that holds many copies back. The sound found on these early Columbia 360 Label Stereo pressings is absolutely the right one for Monk’s music.
As you can see from the notes we took for this copy, we are not making any of this up!
This is why we do shootouts. If you really want to be able to recognize subtle (and sometimes not so subtle!) differences between pressings, you must learn to do them too.
And make sure to take notes about what you are hearing, good and bad.
One side falling short of the full Three Pluses happens all the time.
One out of five records that has one shootout winning side will have a matching shootout-winning other side.
Monk in 1963
Monk’s Dream is a truly outstanding Monk album from 1963. Thanks to Columbia’s state-of-the-art engineering, the recording really comes to life, or at least it does on a copy that sounds as good as this one does.
Charlie Rouse is particularly wonderful on sax on this album, and this copy features him on many of its tracks. The sax sound is full-bodied and natural with lots of breath and just the right amount of bite. Monk’s piano comes through with powerful dynamics and real weight to the keys.
So many copies just sound like an old jazz record, but this one lets you feel like you are right there in the studio, watching as the music is spontaneously created.
Teo Macero no doubt had a lot to do with how well made this record is. Many of the recordings he was involved with are exceptional both musically and sonically, providing the listener with an intimate musical experience not many records can, as was certainly the case here.
What more could you ask for?
Hey, want to find your own top quality copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that consistently win our shootouts.
This record has been sounding its best for many years, in shootout after shootout, this way:
UPDATE 2025
We have two new lists for those who would like to know which Columbia label pressings win shootouts — one for 6-Eye winners and one for 360 Label winners.
Further Reading