Underground (Thelonious Monk album)

Occupation

Underground is a jazz album by Thelonious Monk, recorded 1967/68 in New York City and released on Columbia Records.

The album

Underground is one of the albums from Monks later creative period. It was the last album, which introduced new compositions Monks and the last recorded in the studio album of his quartet. The album contains four new compositions. These are presented in different combo constellations: In addition to two pieces of regular Thelonious Monk Quartet that were on the original album, a piece for piano trio (Easy Street) and a piece of the quartet with singer Jon Hendricks ( In Walked Bud). This piece is the only sung Monk title that has ever appeared on an album of Monk's own. It owes its existence to a chance - Hendricks was present at the recording studio and Monk insisted that he recorded with. However, it was on this day vocally not in good form and his narrative seems at times corny.

The recordings took place in December 1967 and in February 1968 during several sessions. The original album was heavily edited by producer Teo Macero ( as a comparison with the new edition of Legacy / Columbia 2003 shows ): Green Chimneys was shortened from 13 to 9 minutes Ugly Beauty from 10:45 to 7 minutes; while the solos of bass and drums were cut substantially. 5 of the recorded tracks were not recycled.

The album cover was awarded a Grammy Award, it shows Monk as a fighter of the Resistance.

Effect story

The album was not available over long years since Columbia sat exclusively on electric jazz since 1973. Some fans criticized Monks Columbia output, and in particular this album as an infusion or imitation previous material. Even the authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz came 1994 on the judgment that the most original on the album is the cover, with the Columbia probably wanted to curry favor with a younger audience. Otherwise, the album is among the weakest of the Columbia - phase.

In the 2003 version of all images of the Underground sessions are included in unabridged versions. This allows the album to witness how the classic quartet of Monk developed whose plays and interpreted. In his liner notes Peter Keepnews writes, if it were " an encouraging creativity outbreak of a musical genius ."

The title

LP (Columbia CS 9632 )

CD reissue ( COL CD Sony 513359-2 )

All tracks were composed by Monk.

Record label Genre
791601
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