Jimmy Smith - Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (1966)

Creed Taylor matched two of his most famous artists, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, on this session (Montgomery's last for Verve), and the results are incendiary -- a near-ideal meeting of yin and yang. Smith comes at your throat with his big attacks and blues runs while Montgomery responds with rounder, smoother octaves and single notes that still convey much heat. They are an amazing pair, complementing each other, driving each other, using their bop and blues taproots to fuse together a sound. The romping, aggressive big band charts -- Oliver Nelson at his best -- on "Down by the Riverside" and "Night Train," and the pungently haunting chart for Gary McFarland's "13" (Death March)" still leave plenty of room for the soloists to stretch out. "James and Wes" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" include drummer Grady Tate and conguero Ray Barretto, with Smith's own feet working the organ pedals. The Verve Master Edition reissue also includes an alternate take of "O.G.D." with Tate and Barretto, a track previously surfacing on a long-gone Encyclopedia of Jazz anthology LP from the '60s -- a neat bonus that makes this the preferred version.

by Richard S. Ginell in All Music Guide

Styles:
Crossover Jazz
Hard-Bop
Soul

Tracks:
01 - Down by the Riverside (10:02)
02 - Night Train (06:48)
03 - James and Wes (08:13)
04 - 13 (Death March) (05:22)
05 - Baby, It's Cold Outside (06:05)
06 - O.G.D. (aka Road Song) (05:13)

Line-up:
Jimmy Smith – Hammond organ
Wes Montgomery – guitar
Grady Tate - drums
Jerry Dodgion - alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
Bob Ashton - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute
Phil Woods - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute
Clark Terry - trumpet, flugelhorn
Jimmy Maxwell - trumpet
Jimmy Cleveland - trombone
Tony Studd - bass trombone
Jerome Richardson - clarinet, alto & tenor flutes
Richard Davis - bass
Ray Barretto - conga, jingle bells

Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners (1957)

Although Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third disc for Riverside, 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. The assembled quartet for the lion's share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax). Although a compromise, the selection of Miles Davis' bassist, Paul Chambers, and Clark Terry (trumpet) on "Bemsha Swing" reveals what might be considered an accident of ecstasy, as they provide a timeless balance between support and being able to further the cause musically. Likewise, Roach's timpani interjections supply an off-balanced sonic surrealism while progressing the rhythm in and out of the holes provided by Monk's jackrabbit leads. It's easy to write Monk's ferocity and Forrest Gump-esque ingenuity off as gimmick or quirkiness. What cannot be dismissed is Monk's ability to translate emotions into the language of music, as in the freedom and abandon he allows through Sonny Rollins' and Max Roach's mesmerizing solos in "Brilliant Corners." The childlike innocence evoked by Monk's incorporation of the celeste during the achingly beautiful ode "Pannonica" raises the emotional bar several degrees. Perhaps more pointed, however, is the impassioned "I Surrender, Dear" -- the only solo performance on the album. Brilliant Corners may well be considered the alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz. No serious jazz collection should be without it.

by Lindsay Planer in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard Bop
Bop

Tracks:
01 - Brilliant Corners (7:42)
02 - Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are (13:24)
03 - Pannonica (8:50)
04 - I Surrender Dear (5:25)
05 - Bemsha Swing (7:42)

Line-up:
Thelonious Monk - piano; celeste
Ernie Henry - alto saxophone
Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone
Oscar Pettiford - double bass
Max Roach - drums; timpani
Clark Terry - trumpet
Paul Chambers - double bass