10. Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners [1957]

10. Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners [1957]

It's almost a kind of a shame that I have so many of these classic jazz albums coming thick and fast because I feel as though that trying to listen to so many of them in such a short amount of time and with my jazz ignorance it's probably fair to say I'm not really giving these albums the fair crack of the whip that they truly deserve.
I was actually looking forward to this album, I'd heard a little bit of Thelonius Monk (A very little) and heard it spoken about in hushed reverential tones, but what's it actually like?

The first song on the album (And the title track) is fantastic. I'm not entirely sure what 'Hard Bop' actually is (Like bop but harder?) but if it's all like this then I'm going to love albums with that label. There was lots going on, people are soloing away it's like you can't take your ears off it for fear of missing out on something, I'm beginning to see why this is considered such a classic.

And then the rest of the album happens.

The first three of the albums tracks clock in at just under 28 minutes altogether with the second track 'Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are' taking up 13 of those minutes. This is where things go off the boil it just meanders along as a steady tempo and has none of the invention of the title track, even the solos seem half assed.
With the third song of the trio 'Pannonica' things grind even more to a halt and you begin to wonder if this album will ever end.

Thankfully things pick up for the final two tracks of the album, 'I Surrender, Dear' is a lovely piano piece that gives the album that change of direction it really needs by now, followed by Bemsha Swing which is a nice uptempo way to finish the album much in the same way it started.
For the most part I enjoyed this album, it just fell flat a little in the middle.

Rating 3 / 5