This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
And the award for dumbest telebimbo I’ve seen lately goes to: The “journalist” on E! who referred to jazz pianist Thelonious Monk as — and I quote — “The Loneliest Monk.”
Perhaps someone should send her a copy of Monk In Paris: Live At The Olympia. It won’t be me; I’m keeping mine. Primarily because this 1965 recording captures the monumentally talented Monk on a superb night. The band is scrappy and kicking. The recording is close to pristine. The set list includes classics like Body & Soul, April In Paris, Well You Needn’t and Epistrophy. And, best of all, Monk is at the top of his formidable form, tossing off his cascading runs, hunt-and-peck melodies and Chinese-algebra chord sequences as casually and confidently as a grand master playing Chopsticks. For those who already own the set in one of its previous incarnations, there’s a bonus — a DVD with three songs recorded in Sweden in ’66. Anyone foolish enough to pass that up deserves to end up as the loneliest Monk fan.
