| Recorded: The Five Spot Café, New York, 1958. Originally available only on the internet (through Thelonious Records, a label owned by the Monk Estate), Live in New York Vol.1 is a rare live document of one of most infamous gigs in the history of jazz. When the Five Spot Café reopened in its new location in New York City’s Cooper Square, it was with a seven month long residency of Thelonious Monk. It was his first time performing in New York since losing his cabaret card in 1951, and it was a major step in America’s recognition of Monk’s genius. While some tapes of the Five Spot engagement have been released with much fanfare (such as Blue Note’s Discovery! Live at the Five Spot featuring Monk with John Coltrane), the existence of this recording has been relatively unknown until now. While this wonderful audience recording may lack some sonic luster, it contains amazing performances by Monk, Charlie Rouse and Roy Haynes, and transports the listener to a New York club in the jazz heyday of the late 1950s! |