At the Blackhawk

At the Blackhawk is a live album by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk recorded on April 29, 1960 at the Black Hawk and released on Riverside later that year.^[6]

At the Blackhawk
Live album by Thelonious Monk Quartet plus Two
Released	1960
Recorded	April 29, 1960
Venue	Black Hawk, San Francisco
Genre	Jazz
Length	46:31 (LP) 59:00 (CD reissue)
Label	Riverside RLP 12-323
Producer	Orrin Keepnews
Thelonious Monk Quartet plus Two chronology
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (1959) At the Blackhawk (1960) Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (1961)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
DownBeat	[1]
AllMusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]

Background

Riverside Records had originally planned for the album to be co-led by drummer Shelly Manne. Manne's career was at a high point in 1960, and his quintet released four albums recorded live at the Blackhawk that year. (A fifth album from the recording sessions, which took place in 1959, was released in 1991.) Three tracks of Monk's group with Manne playing drums were recorded at the Blackhawk with Manne on April 28, 1960. These tracks remained unissued until the release of Thelonious Monk: The Complete Riverside Recordings in 1986. The tracks recorded with Manne were "'Round Midnight", "Just You, Just Me" and "San Francisco Holiday" (a.k.a. "Worry Later"). Contrary to some published accounts, these tracks do include guest musicians Joe Gordon and Harold Land alongside Monk's regular band members Charlie Rouse and John Ore.

Producer Orrin Keepnews felt that the group with Manne playing drums was not musically successful, and Manne agreed and withdrew from the project. Keepnews then called in Billy Higgins as a last-minute replacement for Manne. Higgins, who was based in Los Angeles during this period, had recently garnered national recognition as a member of the Ornette Coleman quartet in 1959 and 1960.

Track listing

All compositions by Thelonious Monk, except as noted.

Original release

Side One

1. "Let's Call This" – 8:32
2. "Four in One" – 8:37
3. "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" (George Bassman, Ned Washington) – 6:07

Side Two

1. "Worry Later" – 9:09
2. "'Round Midnight" (Monk, Cootie Williams, Bernie Hanighen) – 12:06
3. "Epistrophy (Closing Theme)" – 2:00

CD reissue

1. "Let's Call This" – 8:33
2. "Four in One" – 8:41
3. "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" (George Bassman, Ned Washington) – 6:14
4. "Epistrophy" (Monk, Kenny Clarke) – 6:41
5. "Evidence" – 7:09
6. "San Francisco Holiday (Worry Later)" – 9:10
7. "'Round Midnight" (Monk, Cootie Williams, Bernie Hanighen) – 12:07
8. "Epistrophy" – 0:59

Personnel

Thelonious Monk Quartet plus Two

• Joe Gordon – trumpet
• Harold Land – tenor saxophone
• Charlie Rouse – tenor saxophone
• Thelonious Monk – piano
• John Ore – bass
• Billy Higgins – drums

Technical personnel

• Orrin Keepnews – producer
• Reice Hamel – recording engineer

References

1. DownBeat: September 15, 1960 Vol. 27, No. 19
2. AllMusic review
3. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 145. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1025. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
6. Allmusic entry for Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk