Monk's Music

Monk's Music is an album by Thelonious Monk's jazz septet. It was recorded in New York City on June 26, 1957, and released in October the same year. The first song, "Abide With Me"—a hymn by W. H. Monk—is played only by the septet's horn section. The song "Ruby, My Dear" is performed only by Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Wilbur Ware, and Art Blakey. John Coltrane had joined Monk after playing with the Miles Davis Quintet, and Monk can be heard enthusiastically calling on him ("Coltrane! Coltrane!") to take the first horn solo on the album in "Well, You Needn't." All of the songs except one are original compositions by Monk; all of the originals but "Crepuscule with Nellie" had appeared on previous Monk albums and singles in prior performances.