Minton's Playhouse Allstars live at Berliner Jazztage 1971

Art Blakey: Drums
Al McKibbon: Bass
Thelonious Monk: Piano
Sonny Stitt: Alto Saxophone
Kai Winding: Trombone
Dizzy Gillespie: Trumpet
Berlin, Philharmonie, November 4, 1971

1. Blue `n` Boogie (Dizzy Gillespie)
2. `Round midnight (Thelonious Monk)
3. Lover Man (Roger "Ram" Ramirez)
4. Tin Tin Deo (Dizzy Gillespie)
5. Tour de force (Dizzy Gillespie)
6. A Night In Tunesia (Dizzy Gillespie)

"When George Wein managed to assemble this musical "dream team" in 1972, it received little publicity. After all, Jazz at the Philharmonic was long gone and Wein's Newport Jazz Festival had practically been brought to a halt by destructive young vandals at its original site in Rhode Island. The American public's ears were increasingly attuned to, on the one hand, rock, and, for those a bit older, country and western music. And the few remaining jazz fans were following Miles and "Bitches Brew" into fusion territory. As a result, the bona fide giants of the music, the masters who had been responsible for the bebop revolution of the late '40s, were struggling for audiences and recording contracts. Even Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers ("No fusion for us," Art said. "Jazz is acoustic, and traditional or modern, we're all about mainstream swing.") As a result, all of Art's '70s recordings were made outside the U.S. and few of them were digitalized and released on disc.
To his credit, Wein sensed an opportunity to pry these American masters away from their respective groups and individual commitments and, for at least two years, had them touring before ecstatic, receptive audiences throughout the world (with the exception of their native U.S.). 

So these are giants in a land of giants--before they became extinct. The entire concert is a joy from start to finish, almost a painful reminder of the beauty we once took for granted."

Thelonious Monk live at Berliner Jazztage 1969

Thelonious Monk, piano
Berliner Jazztage November 6, 1969, Philharmonie, Berlin

1. Satin Doll (Duke Ellington; Billy Strayhorn)
2. Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington)
3. Caravan (Duke Ellington; Juan Tizol)

Monk primarily played his own compositions with his quartet, but occasionally performed covers, too. Especially the music of the great Duke Ellington had a special impact on Monk. In 1955 his album "Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington" was released as his debut for Riverside. The choice of Ellington as the 'theme' composer was evidently made by producer Orrin Keepnews and the Riverside label, but it was nevertheless significant. Ellington was (and is) arguably the most important American jazz composer of his generation and with Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, he had been one of the most popular and successful performers and recording artists of the Thirties and Forties.