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Every composition by jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk as interpreted by a pianist with a quartet that can do just about anything.

Roswell Rudd, ailing from cancer at 82, releases a loving quartet record of standards with collaborators as distinctive as he is.

The everywhere-at-once trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith goes it alone, alternating Monk tunes and Monk-inspired originals for solo trumpet. S L O W.

A rediscovered Thelonious Monk session sheds light on the composer's skill as a bandleader as well as his unassuming professionalism.

The Complete Riverside Recordings comprises 15 discs' worth of raw material to sift through, a formidable task with endless rewards.

Cover songs don't have to be all that bad. Just listen to what Becca Stevens and Jason Moran have been doing lately, and you'll see.

Orrin Keepnews didn't just encourage and oversee some of the most important jazz recordings in history; he rolled up his sleeves and helped shape their final form.

The spirit of Mingus is alive and well in Jason Ajemian's band recording for Delmark. Oh, and let's not forget about Monk and Sun Ra.

Here's another one of those groovy, swingin', melodic and enjoyable exercises in futility.

Blue Note, one of the foremost jazz record labels, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a vinyl initiative, releasing highlights from its massive catalog over the course of two years. Here are some picks to get you started.

Jazz greats Monk and Mulligan only played one session together. Bebop met cool, and it was boss.

A story of jazz, wealth and family; 'Nica' Pannonica de Koenigswarter's life was truly one for the ages.

Monk's music, recorded live and in his prime.

Other than a crackling record on a turntable, there is perhaps nothing more satisfying to a jazz aficionado than the release of never-before-heard material from a great player.

While jazz’s complexity cannot be denied, much of the music remains accessible to all. The trick is just finding the right tunes and artists, those who have a universal appeal beyond the scope of the typical, admittedly somewhat limited, jazz audience.

The Ali Jackson Trio celebrates Dizzy Gillespie's birthday this week at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center with the help of some special guests.

No matter how many times it gets reissued, a great album is still a great album. Monk's Music will never sound anything short of terrific.

In between stays at mental institutions for schizophrenia, Powell left behind a remarkable legacy. Sadly, he hasn’t received the same widespread admiration that his close friend Thelonious Monk secured. But to true fans of the jazz genre, Powell is revered.

A fine overview, but given the breadth of the artist's Riverside and Prestige catalogs, it's hard to shake the sense that this collection conceals at least as much as it reveals

Conspicuously absent from PM’s list of the best nonfiction for 2009 is Robin D. G. Kelly’s comprehensive biography of the high priest of bop, Thelonious Sphere Monk.

Though jazz is equally, if not more, fundamental to the American psyche as baseball, we, unfortunately, don’t pay our dues as devoutly as to those on the diamond.

The vintage, never-before-released outing from the a high point of Monk's career

Monk, after a while, begins to remind you of a wily raconteur, retelling a funny story that you’ve never heard before.

The classic studio meetings between Monk (teacher) and Coltrane (student), still tantalizing and uneven.