In live recording, Monk is ‘It’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 25, 2004 | 9 a.m.

For all his first-rate studio recordings, Thelonious Monk shined most brightly onstage.

Look no further than "Live at the It Club," a live document from 1964, for proof of that.

The 19 tracks spread over the two-disc set create a vivid picture of the legendary jazz pianist at work.

Close your eyes, and you can see Monk stabbing at his keys, bouncing his right leg and even performing his trademark dance during bass and drum solos.

Recorded Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 1964, and originally released in 1982, "Live at the It Club" was expanded considerably in 1998 as part of Columbia's ongoing Monk reissue project.

The new "Complete" package includes three additional tracks. More importantly, it restores 11 cuts to their original versions, replacing the chopped-up, edited takes on the 1982 LP.

The set is replete with Monk classics: "Blue Monk," " 'Round Midnight," "Straight, No Chaser," "Evidence" and "Misterioso" among them.

It's also home to several rare live selections by the then-47-year-old New Yorker, including "Gallop's Gallop" and "Bright Mississippi."

Monk approaches every solo differently, attacking each piece with gusto and pizazz. His famous "play between the notes" style, unconventional for the time, paved the way for countless avant-garde musicians in the years to come.

Joining the pianist for the It Club dates were tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse -- a longtime member of Monk's band -- along with bassist Larry Gates and drummer Ben Riley.

Rouse is sensational throughout, while the rhythm section's tightness belies the fact that the duo had played relatively few live dates together.

"Live at the It Club" provides an excellent introduction to Thelonious Monk for those unfamiliar with his wondrous body of work.

Even if you already own seminal Monk studio discs such as "Genius of Modern Music" (1947), "Brilliant Corners" (1956) and "Underground" (1967), it's worth visiting the It Club reissue just to appreciate the man's live prowess.

Artist: Thelonious Monk.

Title: "Live at the It Club -- Complete."

Year of release: 1982 (reissued 1998, Columbia Records).

Tracklisting: Disc 1: "Blue Monk," "Well, You Needn't," " 'Round Midnight," "Rhythm-A-Ning," "Blues Five Spot," "Bemsha Swing," "Evidence," "Nutty," "Epistrophy." Disc 2: "Straight, No Chaser," "Teo," "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Misterioso," "Gallop's Gallop," "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are," "Bright Mississippi," "Just You, Just Me," "All the Things You Are," "Epistrophy."