According to trumpeter Ray Copeland, Coltrane was nodding off during ‘Well You Needn’t’ and Monk called “Coltrane, Coltrane” to indicate his solo turn. The June session with a larger ensemble includes Coleman Hawkins, with whom Monk first recorded with as a sideman in the 1940s and who was an early influence on Coltrane. From that point Coltrane began to see more of Monk, rehearsing informally during the summer of that year. He had earlier begun to rehearse informally with Monk, and ‘Monk’s Mood’ from 12 April included here was actually recorded while Coltrane was still with Davis. Coltrane seized the opportunity of getting his life in order, and during a two-week period in May apparently won the battle against heroin. It wasn’t working out and after a run at the Café Bohemia which ended on 28 April, Davis, exasperated with his sideman’s unpredictability, unceremoniously fired him. In 1957, Coltrane was trying to reconcile the world of the junkie with the world of a successful musician in the most high-profile sideman gig in jazz as a member of the Miles Davis Quintet. 1957įor decades these sessions remained tantalising evidence of what might have been. Thelonious Monk (p), Ray Copeland (t), Gigi Gryce (as), John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins (ts), Wilbur Ware (b), Art Blakey and Shadow Wilson (d). Other than that, it has the same sleeve design and sleeve note. The only difference between this release and the official reissue is the addition of three tracks taped two years earlier. Do note, having slipped into the public domain in terms of copyright, versions of Brilliant Corners are mushrooming. And the eventual outcome? One of the truly great indispensible albums. Whatever the motivation, both Rollins and Henry seldom played better than right here. To make up for a shortfall in time, an unaccompanied Monk slipped behind the keyboard to rework ‘I Surrender, Dear.’ Perhaps because this was far from being a conveyor belt blowing session, all the participants had to face up to what became a real challenge when not only getting to grips with the dangerous curves that beset the title track but also ‘Ba-Lue Bolivar BaLues-Are’ and ‘Pannonica’. For instance only four tracks use horns: while Rollins appears on all four, Ernie Henry plays on three while Clark Terry is only heard on ‘Bemsha Swing’. But seemingly, the three separate sessions that were needed to actually complete the five original tracks were all fraught with tension and frustration. The title track being patched together, by producer Orrin Keepnews, from fragments of no less than 25 incomplete takes. Brilliant in both title and content this album may well be, but by all accounts it was a bitch to make. Back then, it really separated the men from the boys.
Today, musicians tackle Monk’s music with apparent ease to where it has now become repertory. Thelonious Monk (p), Clark Terry (t) Sonny Rollins (ts), Ernie Henry (as), Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers, Tommy Potter (b), Max Roach and Art Taylor (d).
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