Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
File:MonkQuartetWithColtraneCarnegie.jpg
Live album by Thelonious Monk
Released	September 27, 2005
Recorded	November 29, 1957
Genre	Jazz
Length	51:49
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Michael Cuscuna, T.S. Monk (restoration)
Thelonious Monk chronology
Mulligan Meets Monk (1957)Mulligan Meets Monk1957 Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (1957/rel. 2005) Thelonious in Action (1958)Thelonious in Action1958

At Carnegie Hall is a live album by The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane.

Album information

It was recorded on 29 November 1957 at "Thanksgiving Jazz", a benefit concert produced by Kenneth Lee Karpe for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem. Other acts performing included: Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Sonny Rollins, and Chet Baker with Zoot Sims. The recording, by Voice of America, documents two sets by the Monk Quartet with Coltrane that night – an early set (tracks 1-5) and a late set (tracks 6-9), which the recording does not fully document.

The tape was stored at the Library of Congress where it sat untouched, until 2005 when it was discovered by recording lab supervisor Larry Appelbaum. The recording was then restored by producer Michael Cuscuna and T.S. Monk (Thelonious Monk's son).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
All About Jazz	(favourable)
Robert Christgau	(A)
Rolling Stone

The recording has been highly praised: Newsweek called it the "musical equivalent of the discovery of a new Mount Everest," and Amazon.com editorial reviewer Lloyd Sachs called it "the ultimate definition of a classic". Soon after its release, it became the #1 best selling music recording on Amazon.com.

The discovery substantially increased coverage of Monk and Coltrane's partnership; the only other recordings known are The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings CD set (assembled from previously issued albums) and Discovery, believed to document a reunion at the Five Spot café in 1958, recorded on amateur equipment by Coltrane's first wife.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Thelonious Monk unless otherwise noted.

1. "Monk's Mood" – 7:52
2. "Evidence" – 4:41
3. "Crepuscule With Nellie" – 4:26
4. "Nutty" – 5:03
5. "Epistrophy" (Monk, Kenny Clarke) – 4:29
6. "Bye-Ya" – 6:31
7. "Sweet & Lovely" (Gus Arnheim, Harry Tobias, Jules LeMare) – 9:34
8. "Blue Monk" – 6:31
9. "Epistrophy" (incomplete) – 2:24

Personnel

• Thelonious Monk – piano
• John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
• Ahmed Abdul-Malik – bass
• Shadow Wilson – drums