More of the Music of Thelonious Monk
- 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”
- 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
- This is a lot of money for a somewhat noisy copy – “Body and Soul” is pretty much ruined here, alas – but the sound is so awesome and quiet pressings of the album so hard to come by that we hope someone will take a chance on it and get the thrill we did from hearing it sound so good
- 5 stars: “Although he would perform and record supported by various other musicians, the tight – almost telepathic – dimensions that these four shared has rarely been equalled in any genre… Monk’s Dream is recommended, with something for every degree of Monk enthusiast.”
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. What more could you ask for?