Mulligan Meets Monk

Amazon.com
Critics thought the pairing of Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk a strange one when this 1957 session was originally released, Mulligan's light baritone saxophone strongly identified with the cool school and Monk's percussive piano, fractured rhythms, and dissonant tunes the last word in bop. It's an interesting combination, though, with Mulligan's melodic focus actually working fairly well with Monk and his regular band, drummer Shadow Wilson and bassist Wilbur Ware. Common roots in swing are apparent on Mulligan's "Decidedly," a variant of "Undecided," while the baritonist acquits himself well on some of Monk's best-known tunes. Monk was at his peak as a player in 1957--working steadily for the first time in years in a long tenure at the Five Spot--and it shows everywhere here, including the splashing chords and asymmetrical runs of "Sweet and Lovely." Ware, one of the most significant bassists in jazz history, is a perfect accompanist and as commanding a soloist as Mulligan or Monk, using subtle rhythmic shifts and double stops in an almost minimalist way. The alternate takes of several tunes are genuinely different approaches to the material, revealing just how spontaneous the meeting was. --Stuart Broomer

Mulligan Meets Monk,Monk,Mulligan,Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics

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Average customer rating: Good music...of course! Good music...of course! Good music...of course! A valuable meeting of minds 2 days in history

Mulligan Meets Monk Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Ojc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall The Original Quartet With Chet Baker [2-CD SET] Dream a Little Dream Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi Quartet ASIN: B000000YGU Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet And Lovely
4. Decidedly (Take 4)
5. Decidedly (Take 5)
6. Straight, No Chaser (Take 3)
7. Straight, No Chaser (Take 1)
8. I Mean You (Take 4)
9. I Mean You (Take 2)

Amazon.com

Critics thought the pairing of Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk a strange one when this 1957 session was originally released, Mulligan's light baritone saxophone strongly identified with the cool school and Monk's percussive piano, fractured rhythms, and dissonant tunes the last word in bop. It's an interesting combination, though, with Mulligan's melodic focus actually working fairly well with Monk and his regular band, drummer Shadow Wilson and bassist Wilbur Ware. Common roots in swing are apparent on Mulligan's "Decidedly," a variant of "Undecided," while the baritonist acquits himself well on some of Monk's best-known tunes. Monk was at his peak as a player in 1957--working steadily for the first time in years in a long tenure at the Five Spot--and it shows everywhere here, including the splashing chords and asymmetrical runs of "Sweet and Lovely." Ware, one of the most significant bassists in jazz history, is a perfect accompanist and as commanding a soloist as Mulligan or Monk, using subtle rhythmic shifts and double stops in an almost minimalist way. The alternate takes of several tunes are genuinely different approaches to the material, revealing just how spontaneous the meeting was. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

A valuable meeting of minds.......2002-04-03

This disc combines Monk & his rhythm-section of the time--Wilbur Ware & Shadow Wilson--with the baritonist Gerry Mulligan, a stylistically unusual pairing that works out very well. Monk's skeletal chording & frequent preference to have his sidemen "stroll" (play without piano accompaniment) make a natural common ground with Mulligan, who had developed the pianoless quartet in his 1950s groups with Baker & Brookmeyer. Though this session was an informal blowing session, & thus doesn't feature any of Mulligan's sophisticated arrangements, he nonetheless frequently plays quiet counterlines to Monk like he did with Chet--it's an interesting sound, & I've never heard anyone else do this with Monk.

The album is a bit uneven, but what pushes it into the first rank is the version of "Round Midnight", which is probably the single best group reading of the tune I've heard by Monk. Certainly it's the best version he did for Riverside except for the solo version on _Thelonious by Himself_. As usual with Monk in this period, his flow of compositions was slowing down, & there's only one new tune on the disc, "Rhythm-a-Ning" (first recorded by Monk for Atlantic a few months before on his collaboration with Art Blakey). The version here is very different from Monk's later recordings of the tune: it has a double-length bridge which seems to give Mulligan a little trouble (he goofs up a little at the end of the bridge on his first chorus); the performance isn't quite together, but nonetheless has lots of meat in the solos & a good vibe, which is I presume why they didn't do retakes. I'm not sure why "I Mean You" needed 3 complete takes, as they all sound pretty good to me--but I certainly won't complain about getting the bonus tracks. "Decidedly" is Mulligan's variant on Shavers' "Undecided", & features a stoptime solo by Mulligan & some of Ware's most intriguing playing--check out his very offbeat solo on the master take, in particular. "Sweet and Lovely" is a favourite tune of mine, & despite Monk's covering it in other places I would again name this as the best group reading Monk gave it.

A fine disc. Originally it was intended that the album be split between quartet tracks & a big band arranged by Mulligan, but because the 1st recording session went so well the producer & the band decided to go back into the studio the next day to complete the album with just the quartet. I think that was the right decision. This remains one of the high points of Monk's Riverside tenure.

2 days in history.......2001-02-07

There were two days in Jazz history when these two greats recorded together. Thery are on this CD. East meets west, Bob meets Cool. These two friends and each part of the beginining of two of the biggest movements in modern jazz, colloborate for some greatness. A must have for the collection.

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Fantasy ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: All the Roadrunning Water for Elephants: A Novel ASIN: B00067RF3M Release Date: 2004-11-30

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet and Lovely
4. Decidedly [Take 4]
5. Decidedly [Take 5][*]
6. Straight, No Chaser [Take 3][*]
7. Straight, No Chaser [Take 1][*]
8. I Mean You [Take 4]
9. I Mean You [Take 2][*]

Average customer rating: A fantastic meeting. So Much More than I Expected!

Mulligan Meets Monk (20 bit mastering) Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Riverside ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Concorde (20 Bit Mastering) Caravan (20 Bit Mastering) 4, 5 and 6 Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane Chet ASIN: B0000DIJQ8 Release Date: 2003-10-21

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet And Lovely
4. Decidedly (Take 4)
5. Straight, No Chaser (Take 3)
6. I Mean You (Take 4)
7. Decidedly (Take 5)
8. Straight, No Chaser (Take 1)
9. I Mean You (Take 1)
10. I Mean You (Take 2)

Customer Reviews:

A fantastic meeting........2005-10-12

An album that could easily be mistaken for another one of those X meets Y recordings that proove that in jazz, being a great soloist often isn't enough to turn out a great performance, "Mulligan Meets Monk" is a fine example that sometimes being a great is enough to carry your weight. Who dreamed up this pairing is quite uncertain, but over two days in August of 1957, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, one of the most adventerous musicians of his era and the standard by which the baritone sax is measured, recorded an album with the rhythm section of Thelonious Monk's working quartet-- Monk on piano, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Shadow Wilson on drums. The shoes that Mulligan had to fill were that of one of the few musicians who was more adventerous than he-- John Coltrane.

Muligan performs admirably-- the music is by and large Monk's-- four of the six pieces are Monk originals ("'Round Midnight", "Rhythm-a-ning", "Straight, No Chaser", and the underperformed "I Mean You"), with one Mulligan piece ("Decidingly") and a standard largely associated with Monk ("Sweet and Lovely"). For his part, Mulligan proves unnervingly flexible-- digging deep into the Monk idiom while maintaining his own ideal, ranging from velvety and lush (in what may be my favorite performance of "'Round Midnight") to stunningly agile ("Rhythm-a-ning") and just hard swinging and brilliant ("Straight, No Chaser"). Monk is his usual self-- a combination of laying out to let the horn wail and his usual dialog with the soloist, and with a rhythm section who by this point had developed a tight rapport with Monk, the pianist really cuts loose.

Like the rest of the recent Riverside reissues (the 20-bit remasters in the slip cases), the sound on this is unnervingly well cleaned up and is well worth the investment for anyone who has the original issue. The recording is additionally augmented by four alternate takes, with the total package stretching over an hour and the original liner notes reprinted.

Well worth listening to, "Mulligan Meets Monk" is a superb album, more in Monk's vein then Mulligan's, but I can't imagine anyone would not find a lot to love here. Recommended.

So Much More than I Expected!.......2005-02-15

This is the type of album I'd call a minor masterpiece. "Minor" in that it's not the #1 most essential Monk album you need to own, but a "masterpiece" in that it's absolutely great on its own terms! Mulligan completely gets the Monk vibe and this album is full of interesting new arrangements of Monk classics.

Much of it is rather mellow. I mean, it's not the Monk album with the most energy and bounce out there, but it is so calm and collected and so throroughly swinging that I can't help but love it. Besides that, just look at that tracklist! Three versions of I Mean You?? Thank you! Track #9 being my favorite I Mean You of the disc... but as much as I enjoy all 3 of them, I wouldn't put any of them in the same league as the one on the Monk In Paris: Live At Olympia 2-disc set.

The sound of this remaster is excellent. Everything is balanced and up-front. Nice full analog tone. It's not one of those albums where the horn is blasting your ears but you can't even hear the bass. Speaking of which, the personnel for this album is Monk on piano, Mulligan on baritone sax, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Shadow Wilson on drums.

This is one of those albums that you don't seem to hear very much about, for reasons completely unexplainable by the music contained herein. Monk is obviously having alot of fun playing off of Mulligan's solos, and when it's Monk's turn to solo... particulary on that #9 I Mean You... watch out. If you thought you had all the Monk you needed, but you don't have this one, think again. This is a classic.

Actually, looking back on some recent reviews, this album makes me realize I blew it on the number of stars on some past reviews. This is a great 4-star album, but things like Monk's Complete Live at the It Club, and Sonny Clark's Cool Struttin' are full-on 5-star albums. Sam Rivers' Contours should have gotten 3 stars because the good stuff is good, but there isn't enough of it to put it at the level of this.

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Riverside ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B000GIWMUC Release Date: 2006-09-04

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet and Lovely
4. Decidedly [Take 4]
5. Decidedly [Take 5][*]
6. Straight, No Chaser [Take 3][*]
7. Straight, No Chaser [Take 1][*]
8. I Mean You [Take 4]
9. I Mean You [Take 2][*]

Album Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2006.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B000NO29JI Release Date: 2007-03-20

Average customer rating: Good music...of course! Good music...of course! Good music...of course! A valuable meeting of minds 2 days in history

Mulligan Meets Monk Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Jvc / Xrcd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall The Original Quartet With Chet Baker [2-CD SET] Dream a Little Dream Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi Quartet ASIN: B00004STOJ Release Date: 1997-07-08

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet and Lovely
4. Decidedly [Take 4]
5. Decidedly [Take 5][*]
6. Straight, No Chaser [Take 3][*]
7. Straight, No Chaser [Take 1][*]
8. I Mean You [Take 4]
9. I Mean You [Take 2][*]

Amazon.com

Critics thought the pairing of Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk a strange one when this 1957 session was originally released, Mulligan's light baritone saxophone strongly identified with the cool school and Monk's percussive piano, fractured rhythms, and dissonant tunes the last word in bop. It's an interesting combination, though, with Mulligan's melodic focus actually working fairly well with Monk and his regular band, drummer Shadow Wilson and bassist Wilbur Ware. Common roots in swing are apparent on Mulligan's "Decidedly," a variant of "Undecided," while the baritonist acquits himself well on some of Monk's best-known tunes. Monk was at his peak as a player in 1957--working steadily for the first time in years in a long tenure at the Five Spot--and it shows everywhere here, including the splashing chords and asymmetrical runs of "Sweet and Lovely." Ware, one of the most significant bassists in jazz history, is a perfect accompanist and as commanding a soloist as Mulligan or Monk, using subtle rhythmic shifts and double stops in an almost minimalist way. The alternate takes of several tunes are genuinely different approaches to the material, revealing just how spontaneous the meeting was. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

Good music...of course!.......2002-10-27

This album is not in the class of, say, 'Kind of Blue', but that is not to say that it isn't good, with a fabulous version of 'Round Midnight' being the highlight. Mulligan delivers some stylish sounds, although, having Monk's version of 'I mean you' with John Coltrane, I was left slightly disappointed by that track (mind you, who could compare to Trane?!) There's good support from Wilbur Ware and Shadow Wilson, and the great playing you'd expect from Monk. The selection of tunes is mostly Monk, although there's a Mulligan original, 'Decidedly', given the Monk treatment.

A valuable meeting of minds.......2002-04-03

This disc combines Monk & his rhythm-section of the time--Wilbur Ware & Shadow Wilson--with the baritonist Gerry Mulligan, a stylistically unusual pairing that works out very well. Monk's skeletal chording & frequent preference to have his sidemen "stroll" (play without piano accompaniment) make a natural common ground with Mulligan, who had developed the pianoless quartet in his 1950s groups with Baker & Brookmeyer. Though this session was an informal blowing session, & thus doesn't feature any of Mulligan's sophisticated arrangements, he nonetheless frequently plays quiet counterlines to Monk like he did with Chet--it's an interesting sound, & I've never heard anyone else do this with Monk.

The album is a bit uneven, but what pushes it into the first rank is the version of "Round Midnight", which is probably the single best group reading of the tune I've heard by Monk. Certainly it's the best version he did for Riverside except for the solo version on _Thelonious by Himself_. As usual with Monk in this period, his flow of compositions was slowing down, & there's only one new tune on the disc, "Rhythm-a-Ning" (first recorded by Monk for Atlantic a few months before on his collaboration with Art Blakey). The version here is very different from Monk's later recordings of the tune: it has a double-length bridge which seems to give Mulligan a little trouble (he goofs up a little at the end of the bridge on his first chorus); the performance isn't quite together, but nonetheless has lots of meat in the solos & a good vibe, which is I presume why they didn't do retakes. I'm not sure why "I Mean You" needed 3 complete takes, as they all sound pretty good to me--but I certainly won't complain about getting the bonus tracks. "Decidedly" is Mulligan's variant on Shavers' "Undecided", & features a stoptime solo by Mulligan & some of Ware's most intriguing playing--check out his very offbeat solo on the master take, in particular. "Sweet and Lovely" is a favourite tune of mine, & despite Monk's covering it in other places I would again name this as the best group reading Monk gave it.

A fine disc. Originally it was intended that the album be split between quartet tracks & a big band arranged by Mulligan, but because the 1st recording session went so well the producer & the band decided to go back into the studio the next day to complete the album with just the quartet. I think that was the right decision. This remains one of the high points of Monk's Riverside tenure.

2 days in history.......2001-02-07

There were two days in Jazz history when these two greats recorded together. Thery are on this CD. East meets west, Bob meets Cool. These two friends and each part of the beginining of two of the biggest movements in modern jazz, colloborate for some greatness. A must have for the collection.

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk Gerry Mulligan Manufacturer: Jvc Victor ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004SYJU Release Date: 2000-03-23

Tracks:

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
3. Sweet And Lovely
4. Decidedly (Take 4)
5. Straight No Chaser (Take 3)
6. I Mean You (Take 4)
7. Decidedly (Take 5)
8. Straight No Chaser (Take 1)
9. I Mean You (Take 1)
10. I Mean You (Take 2)

Album Description

Japanese reissue of classic jazz album originally released on the Riverside label. Remastered using 20 bit Digital K2 technology. Limited edition with paper sleeve reproduction of original artwork.

Album Details

Japanese Version Featuirng Digital K2 Remastering & Limited Lp Style Slipcase.

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0009J8I3I Release Date: 2005-06-28

Average customer rating:

Mulligan Meets Monk T/Mull Monk Manufacturer: Jvc/Sire ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music ASIN: B000084H8I Release Date: 1997-07-08

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