Brilliant Corners

Artist: Thelonius Monk

Released: 1957

Brilliant Corners is Thelonius Monk's third disc for Riverside, and it's the first on the label to weigh in with such heavy original material.

Enthusiasts who become jaded to the idiosyncratic nature of Monk's playing or his practically arithmetical chord progressions should occasionally revisit Brilliant Corners. There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision.