I know next to nothing about what makes good jazz music. So, I’ll simply say that I love this album. To my untrained ears it sounds amazing. The adjective in the title aptly describes the music within. My rating:
Lest you wonder if a jazz record from the fifties might be stale or a waste of time to explore, one reviewer’s comments may convince you otherwise. “Recorded in December 1956, Brilliant Corners was Monk’s first Riverside LP to feature his own compositions. Indeed, it seems the music was so risky that the liner notes are an almost apologetic warning to the listener. It’s brilliant stuff, fresh and alive these 67 years later.”1
AllAboutJazz.com used descriptors like “superb”, “fresh”, “real genius”.2
From a five-out-of-five review in Jazz Music Archives:
Not only is “Brilliant Corners” one of Thelonious Monk’s best albums, but its also considered one of the better recordings in the history of jazz. Don’t expect a lot of fireworks from this one though, instead, most of these blues based tunes are played in laid back medium tempos, or even slower, but do expect maximum creativity and a brilliant ensemble that moves together as one mind. Monk does have a particularly strong crew assembled here, with Sonny Rollins and Max Roach on board, plus Ernie Henry and Oscar Pettiford are no slouches either. Clark Terry and Paul Chambers replace Henry and Pettiford for one cut, but they too are up for the great interplay that goes down on this disc.3
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Andrew Gilbert wrote:
Brilliant Corners marked Monk’s return as a composer of the first order…(the result is) Monk’s first mid-career masterpiece.4
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
Prime Playlist: 201. Brilliant Corners by Thelonius Monk
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For details about this project, read this: Project 1001 Albums
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: na/
Released on April 4, 1957. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: "Butterfly” by Andy Williams5
• Number one album: Calypso by Harry Belafonte6
• Number one movie: The Ten Commandments by Cecil B. DeMille7
• Most watched TV programs: I Love Lucy, Ed Sullivan Show, General Electric Theater, The $64,000 Question, December Bride, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I’ve Got a Secret, Gunsmoke, The Perry Como Show, The Jack Benny Show8
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier9
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: The FBI Story by Don Whitehead10
Sport
• Apr 7 21st Masters Tournament: Doug Ford wins his only Masters, 3 strokes ahead of 3-time champion Sam Snead.
• Apr 13 11th NBA Championship: Bost Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 3.
• Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 5-1 for a 4-1 series victory.11
Notable Births
• Apr 4 Graeme Kelling, Scottish pop guitarist (Deacon Blue), born in Paisley, Scotland (d. 2004).
• Apr 4 Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, (67 years old), Mexican drug lord and escape artist, born in La Tuna, Sinaloa, Mexico (or April 4th, 1957).
• Apr 9 Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88, US Masters 1980, 83), born in Pedreña, Spain (d. 2011).12
Historical Events
• Apr 1 Trial begins in Budapest against participants of the Hungarian Uprising of October 1956.
• Apr 11 Britain agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
• Apr 13 11th Tony Awards: "Long Day's Journey into Night" (play) & "My Fair Lady" (musical) win.13
Notable Deaths
• Apr 3 Edward "Ned" Sparks, Canadian actor (42nd Street, Imitation of Life), dies from intestinal obstruction at 73.
• Apr 19 Charles Earle Funk, American lexicographer (Funk & Wagnalls), dies at 76.
• Apr 22 Roy Campbell, South African poet (Garcia Lorca), dies at 54.14
Gilbert, Andrew, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Fifth printing, ed. by Robert Dimmery p. 32
Ibid.