Thelonious Monk – Trio
Prestige 7027
Thelonious Monk – piano
Percy Heath, Gary Mapp – bass
Art Blakey, Max Roach – drums
This record doesn’t seem to get talked about much, and I don’t know why. It has a bunch of great tunes in their classic form, including Reflections, Trinkle Tinkle, Bye-Ya, and Little Rootie Tootie; it has a loose, breezy feel, with each track coming in at a very concise three minutes long; the drumming by both Blakey and Roach is creatively handled, with something special happening on each track. Extremely friendly and listenable record.