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The ten tracks here, however, were all recorded from late 1952 to late 1954, when the pianist Thelonious Monk had been around for nearly ten years, and had already recorded as a leader from 1947 to 1952 for the Blue Note label.

This album, however, was his first for the Prestige label. Add to this the fact that the music of Monk, who had been one of the earliest exponents of be-bop and had worked alongside both Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, had been difficult for the public, much more so than that of Parker and Gillespie. The album therefore clearly marks an attempt to (re-)introduce Monk to the public. In fact more such attempts followed, including an album of Duke Ellington compositions, but that’s another story.

On this album Monk is accompanied by Max Roach or Art Blakey on drums and Percy Heath or Gary Mapp on bass. Most of the tracks were composed by Monk himself, and the catchy lilt of “Blue Monk”, “Bemsha Swing”, and “Bye-Ya”, for instance, does a lot to make the music of the eccentric genius sound much more approachable. The eccentricity is evident, in the way Monk deliberately staggers the rhythm with his timing of the notes and in his often playing two adjacent notes together. Monk’s improvisations and contemplative feeling of his playing come through powerfully.

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