Thelonious (album)


Thelonious is a 10" LP by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, performed by the Thelonious Monk Trio. It was originally released in 1953 as the first of five 10" LP studio albums by Monk for Prestige, and was later expanded into the 12-inch album Thelonious Monk Trio with the addition of two non-chronological later tracks. It has rarely been re-released in its original format, although it was included in a boxed set by Craft Records in a limited edition in 2017.
The album features his earliest recordings for the Prestige label, performed with bassist Gary Mapp, and alternately Art Blakey and Max Roach on drums.

Track listing

All compositions by Thelonious Monk, except where noted.
Side A:
  2. "Little Rootie Tootie" - 3:06
  4. "Sweet and Lovely" - 3:33
  6. "Bye-Ya" - 2:46
  8. "Monk's Dream" - 3:07
Side B:
  2. "Trinkle, Tinkle" - 2:49
  4. "These Foolish Things" - 2:46
  6. "Bemsha Swing" - 3:10
  8. "Reflections" - 2:48
;Notes
A notable feature of these eight recordings is their brevity. Like the Blue Note recordings before them, it appears these performances were kept short such that they could be simultaneously released on 45 and 78 rpm singles and EPs. And, in fact, most of these selections were released in that format at the time, as well:
The next batch of recordings Monk produced for Prestige saw him beginning to take advantage of the longer LP format.

Personnel