In May 1963, pianist Thelonious Monk gave five concert performances in Japan, backed by Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Butch Warren on bass and Frankie Dunlop on drums. On May 21, the quartet performed at Sankei Hall in Tokyo, which resulted in the Columbia release Monk in Tokyo. Two days later, they appeared on Japanese TV.
The music taped from the television show was released in Japan, first on Baybridge Records and then on East Wind, followed by a string of other labels, including Candid in 2006. The sound was never great. Last week, the newly revived Candid label re-issued the recording remastered by engineer Bernie Grundman. The fidelity of the new release is first-rate—warm, deep and clear. The five tracks are Epistrophy, Bolivar Blues, Evidence, Just a Gigolo and Blue Monk.
The classic Thelonious Monk Quartet with Rouse was formed in 1958 and featured Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. They recorded first at the Five Spot in the fall of that year. In 1959, Sam Jones was on bass and Art Taylor was on drums. By 1960, John Ore was on bass and remained while the drum chair was shuffled among different players. In 1961, Frankie Dunlop was the drummer. Then Ore left in April 1963 and was replaced by Butch Warren for the Japan tour. [Photo above of Charlie Rouse by Francis Wolff, courtesy of (c)Mosaic Images]
Here is the Japanese TV show, with the audio that appeared on previous releases...
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Thelonious Monk: The Classic Quartet (Candid) here.
The new re-issue is available on CD, streaming services and 180-gram vinyl.
JazzWax clip: Here's Epistrophy (other tracks can be found on streaming services such as YouTube and Spotify)...
