10. Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners

Artist: Thelonious Monk
Album: Brilliant Corners
Year: 1957

Monk is a performer I've heard a lot about but I always resisted listening to for some reason. Sometimes when you hear qualifiers like "dense" and "difficult" as musical descriptors, it's kind of a turn-off. I completely regret not hearing this album sooner in life. It is a masterpiece. I think I'm going to have to take bop a little more seriously from here on out.

This album blew me away from the very beginning and I can spot its influence on certain forms of modern rock from a mile away. The very first thing you hear in the opening title track is a creepy little dissonant music-box melody on piano. This opening melody recurs throughout the song in countless permutations (different tempos, time signatures, intonations, instrumentation, etc.), worming its way into your subconscious. Just when you think you have a handle on it, it twists in a different way. It's like a hall of mirrors. I love the interplay between the alto and tenor saxophones in this tune. It's dissonant and a little weird, but beautiful at the same time. Just amazing.

What feels new about this music is its spontaneity. All nine albums I've previously listened to had some classic, landmark material on them, but all of them felt rehearsed. This one is the first to have that element of surprise, as if the performers themselves aren't quite sure what comes next. It would not shock me if this music had a profound effect on the purveyors of psychedelic rock as well as the math-rock bands of the 1990's like Tortoise.

The rest of this album is not up to the same standard as its opening track. "I Surrender, Dear" is a solo piano piece that becomes a little tedious over its 5+ minute running time. The second-best cut is "Bemsha Swing," the album's closing cut. Not surprisingly, it's the one most similar to "Brilliant Corners."

I love Monk's take on jazz and I can see how it was probably influential on the modal jazz that Miles Davis was soon to embark upon. The relatively formless "variations on a theme" approach stands in stark contrast to the Ellington/Basie/Prima big band stuff of the 30's and 40's. This album is undoubtedly going to find a place in my collection. It stands among the best jazz recordings I've heard.

Rating: Indispensable