Previously unavailable except on the box set THE COMPLETE RIVERSIDE RECORDINGS, these tracks, gathered together from four different concert sources, are collected here for the first time on one CD. The first cuts, from a '59 show at New York City's Town Hall, feature extremely energetic performances on three of Monk's best known pieces: "In Walked Bud," "Blue Monk" and "Rhythm-a-Ning" (with a tremendous tenor sax solo by Charlie Rouse, fragmented, lyrical keyboard essays by Monk and a fine, layered solo by beatkeeper Arthur Taylor).
Art Blakey joins the group for a quick chaotic theme of "Bye-Ya/Epistrophy" from NY's Five Spot (also '58). In the San Francisco concert tracks recorded in '60, the quartet is joined by an additional sax man, Harold Land, and trumpeter Joe Gordon (who has an attractive, slurred style). The ensemble churns out eloquent, improvised licks on superior takes of "San Francisco Holiday" and "Four In One," (which features one of Monk's loopiest themes). Cuts from the 1961 Paris concert find the band at once more comfortable and more willing to experiment (Rouse and Monk get loose on "Jackie-ing"). The rare, full-length version of "Epistrophy" which shifts, barrels and spills through its changes, is an additional treat.