The mysterious nature of Jazz appealed to me later in my musical appreciation.
I don’t normally like Compilation, Greatest Hits or Best of collections when it comes to music. I normally avoid them, preferring the album as an expression of what the artist intended, at that time. Tracking down the album from where a track came from and hearing it in context, with its neighbours is a satisfying thing to do.
A Rough Guide
However, I purchased “The Rough Guide to Thelonious Monk” (as discussed in A Condensed History Pt 6), which is a Collection! It does however accomplish this really well. It was one of the first Jazz albums I bought and I knew nothing of Monk, other than he was a master. This album: the tracks chosen and the liner notes supplied cover the breadth of Monk’s work – from ‘47 to ‘59.
The tracks “Straight No Chaser”, “Blue Monk”, “Brilliant Corners” & “Little Rootie Tootie” are superlative. There’s nothing on the album you wouldn’t want to listen to. However, there is one track that isn’t on this album and that is “Mysterioso”.
Mysterious
“Mysterioso” is a track and an album by Thelonious Monk. The track was written in 1948 and released on several recordings. The album of the same name was a Live album, released in 1958 and includes a version of the track. I’m listening to a version on YouTube as I don’t have a physical version. Another one to obtain…
The Scandi Connection
Long before I had heard any Monk, I had heard of the track: Mysterioso but not via music but via a paperback. The paperback in question is the Scandi-Noir novel “The Blinded Man” by Arne Dahl. It is actually released as “Mysterioso” in America. Being the first in the series of novels by the author, the story follows Detective Paul Hjelm, working for the Stockholm Intercrime Squad on the trail of a killer. The killer plays the track “Mysterioso”. It’s really worth a read if that Scandi-Noir thing appeals.
The book has also been turned into a TV Series.
Now Playing
Album: The Rough Guide to Thelonious Monk
Artist: Thelonious Monk
Published: 2018
Label: World Music Network (Rough Guides)
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Track: Mysterioso
Artist: Thelonious Monk
Via: YouTube
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