Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960

THELONIOUS MONK: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 Saga, 2017

CLASSIC JAZZ – Previously unreleased, this session was used as the soundtrack to a French film in 1960. Monk's working quartet of the time, featuring his longtime tenor sax man Charlie Rouse, is enhanced with a second tenor (Barney Wilen) on a few tracks. Despite the hype surrounding the release, this is nowhere near the sort of major find we had a few years ago with the Monk/Coltrane Carnegie Hall set. But there are a few nice additions to the legacy here, especially the speedy versions of "Rhythm-a-Ning" and the improvised blues "Six in One."

Fo’s Picks: I – 1, 2, 3, 7, II – 1, 3, 5

DISC ONE

1. 5:47 – YES! fast romp dives in: playful piano, breezy saxes, driving rhythm
2. 5:16 – slow, moody ballad: eccentric solo piano alternates with trio
3. 4:28 – relaxed piano: a beautiful solo blues improvisation, after-hours feel
4. 4:57 – walking groove, awkward edit in intro (unedited version on disc 2)
5. 2:27 – slow solo piano ballad, first of 3 versions, a bit halting and lopsided
6. 2:55 – slow solo piano ballad, more soulful than #5 with added fragility
7. 6:20 – relaxed quartet ballad: the most inviting of the 3 versions, lovely end
8. 6:57 – relaxed blues stroll drifts off-center; cool sax solos bracket piano
9. 2:47 – just weird: stiff repeating drum figure makes everything awkward
10. 1:47 – calm spiritual for piano/sax/bass trio: nice sound, wish it was longer

DISC TWO

1. 5:36 – fast boppin fun, a bit more straightforward than the version on disc 1
2. 2:29 – slow solo/trio ballad, shorter & less cohesive than disc 1
3. 6:53 – relaxed quartet ballad, slightly warmer than the disc 1 version
4. 4:09 – relaxed and slouchy, this time the stiff drum figure thing almost works
5. 6:47 – jaunty midtempo walk, loosens up w/bright sax solo, quirky piano
6. 14:14 – the final versions of "Light Blue" just don't work, so do you really want to hear 14 minutes of the band trying to figure out the beat?

[ Fo ] - 5 August 2017