Carmen McRae, a good friend of Thelonious Monk, sang 13 of his songs (two of which are also heard in different live versions) on this memorable project.
Half of the lyrics are by Jon Hendricks, while the remainder were written by Abbey Lincoln ("Blue Monk"), Bernie Hanighen, Sally Swisher, or Mike Ferro.
On all but the two concert performances, McRae is assisted by tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, pianist Eric Gunnison, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Al Foster; Mraz's solos are particularly impressive, although everyone is in sensitive form.
The live recordings give listeners two more chances to acknowledge the uniqueness of tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse's tone.
As for McRae, her phrasing has rarely sounded better than on this classic set, and it is a particular pleasure to hear her interpret the intelligent lyrics and unusual melodies.
"Dear Ruby" ("Ruby, My Dear") and "Listen to Monk" ("Rhythm-A-Ning") are among the high points of the essential and very delightful CD.
An inspired idea and one of the best recordings of Carmen McRae's career.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get It StraightThelonious Monk, Sally Swisher | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 2 | It's Over NowMike Ferro, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 05:28 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | Monkery's the BluesAbbey Lincoln, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | You Know WhoColeman Hawkins, Jon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Little ButterflyJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Listen to MonkJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | How I WishJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Man, That Was a DreamJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 9 | 'Round MidnightBernie Hanighen, Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams | Carmen McRae | Play | 06:32 | 14 MB | 31 MB |
| 10 | Still We DreamMike Ferro, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | SuddenlyJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Looking BackJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 26 MB |
| 13 | SuddenlyJon Hendricks, Thelonious Monk | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 14 | Get It StraightThelonious Monk, Sally Swisher | Carmen McRae | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 15 | Get It Straight (Live) | Carmen Mcrae | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| 16 | Dear Ruby | Carmen Mcrae | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 17 | Suddenly (Live) | Carmen Mcrae | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 72 mins | 166 MB | |||||
| 72 mins | 406 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pietro Alfieri | Art Direction, Design |
| 2 | Steve Backer | Series Director |
| 3 | Tom Bradshaw | Executive Producer |
| 4 | Larry Clothier | Mixing, Producer |
| 5 | Janet DeMatteis | Creative Director |
| 6 | Tia Dodge | Photography |
| 7 | Michael O. Drexler | Engineer |
| 8 | Mike Ferro | Composer |
| 9 | Al Foster | Drums |
| 10 | Eric Gunnison | Piano |
| 11 | Bernie Hanighen | Composer |
| 12 | Coleman Hawkins | Composer |
| 13 | Jon Hendricks | Composer |
| 14 | Leslie Ann Jones | Engineer |
| 15 | Clifford Jordan | Guest Artist, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor) |
| 16 | Ria Lewerke | Art Direction, Design |
| 17 | Abbey Lincoln | Composer |
| 18 | Carmen McRae | Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 19 | Thelonious Monk | Composer |
| 20 | George Mraz | Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Guest Artist |
| 21 | Ed Rak | Engineer, Mixing |
| 22 | Charlie Rouse | Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 23 | Cynthia Sesso | Photo Research |
| 24 | Joshua Sherman | Series Producer |
| 25 | Sally Swisher | Composer |
| 26 | Lee Tanner | Photography |
| 27 | Stuart Troup | Liner Notes |
| 28 | Cootie Williams | Composer |
| 29 | Larry Willis | Guest Artist, Piano |
| 30 | Ben Young | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |