Brilliant Corners [Bonus Track]

1	Brilliant Corners 7:47
2	Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are 13:19
3	Pannonica 8:52
4	I Surrender, Dear 5:27
5	Bemsha Swing 7:44
6	Pannonica Bonus Track / Incomplete-Opening Chorus Only 2:34

Barnes & Noble

By the time pianist Thelonious Monk joined Riverside Records, a great many of his classic compositions could already be found on his earlier Blue Note albums. But the modern master still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Along with such brilliant players as tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins, drummer Max Roach, trumpeter Clark Terry, and bassists Oscar Pettiford and Paul Chambers, Monk also brought some soon-to-be classic tunes with him into the studio. " "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are," "Pannonica," " Bemsha Swing," and "Brilliant Corners" are superb Monk compositions that receive spirited performances. Monk also characteristically slips in an old chestnut, "I Surrender Dear," which he proceeds to reconstruct in his inimitable way. Although each of the accompanying players is perfectly tuned in to Monk's demanding alternate world of skewed harmony, melody, and rhythm, one tune kept throwing them for a loop. The drastic rhythmic changeups of "Brilliant Corners" were not to be mastered in one take. Listen closely and you can hear the tape splice joining two different takes. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

Thelonious Monk's third album for Riverside was a good bit more adventurous than his first two, which were designed to make him a little more accessible. Lining up Sonny Rollins on tenor sax and Ernie Henry on alto, with drummer Max Roach and bassist Oscar Pettiford, everything seemed like it would fall into place. But as producer and liner note writer Orrin Keepnews explained, some of Monk's compositions were difficult, especially "Brilliant Corners," which given the lack of rehearsal necessitated that multiple takes be spliced together, though the result is clearly worth the effort. Monk's new blues "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" has a jaunty air in its extended debut. "Pannonica" features the novelty of Monk doubling on piano and celeste, as the latter instrument was available in the studio and inspired him to add it on the spot. On the final session, which produced "Bemsha Swing," Henry is replaced by trumpeter Clark Terry and Pettiford (who proved to be difficult during the first session) by Paul Chambers, with Roach adding timpani to his drum kit. This reissue in the Keepnews Collection series adds a previously unissued opening chorus from "Pannonica," though it is not a complete take. Keepnews' new reflections on these sessions, over half a century after they were recorded, add to the value of this expanded CD reissue. Ken Dryden