Monk at the Five Spot

On this night in 1958, Riverside Records producer Orrin Keepnews dragged bis recording equipment across the Hudson to the Five Spot Cafe. To record Thelonious Monk for a live album. With the restoration of his cabaret card, Monk had been playing at the Five Spot for about a year and was in the midst of a second residency there.

For some reason, the recordings were deemed lacking. They sound good to me, but I am partial to Monk's work with Griffin on sax. Keepnews returned a month later an recorded two sets, from which the albums Thelonious in Action and Misterioso were released. This set shares "Blues Five Spot", "Evidence", "In Walked Bud"*, and "Epistrophy (Theme)" with those two albums. It adds "'Round Midnight", "Bye-Ya", and "Unidentified Piano Solo" - which some identify as "Sweet Stranger"- the sources are unclear.

*Bud Powell: it was probably Bud's packet of heroin that police found in the car in which Monk and Bud sat one night in 1951. Monk's refusal to testify lead to him losing of his cabaret card, which prevented him from playing at clubs were alcohol was served.

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