Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco [Spain Import]

Thelonious Alone in San Francisco finds Monk by himself at the piano in 1959, presented on this Spanish import LP with bonus tracks added to the original program.

He recorded the album over two October days at Fugazi Hall in San Francisco, a space he had entirely to himself, with no audience in the room. It was his third solo piano album, following Thelonious Himself, and Orrin Keepnews produced it for Riverside. Freed from bandmates and bandstand expectations, Monk sounds relaxed and reflective, taking his time with every phrase and letting the silences do as much work as the notes.

Blue Monk opens the set with a loping, conversational stride, and Ruby, My Dear unfolds with a tenderness that undercuts his reputation as jazz's great eccentric. Round Lights is an improvised blues heard only on these sessions, while his take on the standard Everything Happens to Me turns a familiar ballad into something wry and beautifully off-kilter. The rest of the program mixes more of his own tunes with a handful of old popular songs, each bent gently into his own shape.

Without a rhythm section to lean on, every hesitation and every crunching chord lands with full weight. It is one of the most intimate portraits of Monk on record, and a perfect late-night listen.