The first album is the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane live At Carnegie Hall. The two sets on the album are from a benefit concert in November 1957. Monk and Coltrane complement each other very well. Coltrane's smooth solos dance over Monk's quirky piano melodies. On the faster numbers, Monk dances across the keys of the piano, while Coltrane runs up and down the range of the saxophone, leaving the listener in awe of his sheer technical skills. But when the quartet slows the tempo, Monk's unique chords and his beautiful melodies provide a strong foundation for him and Coltrane to play absolutely heartbreaking lines, rich with emotion and vibrato.The album closes with an incomplete recording of one of my favorite tunes on the album, "Epistrophy" (a full version closes the first set). The feeling of wanting more after hearing it fade out before Monk's solo is the same feeling that the entire album leaves the listener with; one just wishes there were more of this sweet, saxophony goodness.
The next album, live At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm, Volume Two by the Ornette Coleman trio is another one of my favorites. Coleman, a saxophone player, begins the album with a violin, followed by trumpet. As the drums and bass lay down a fast, off-kilter "beat" (if it can be called as much), Coleman displays his prowess at both free jazz improvisation and two instruments he doesn't usually play. He follows "Snowflakes and Sunshine" with the beautiful "Morning Song." Coleman's sound lilts with the melody that never seems to really begin or end. On the faster numbers, like "The Riddle," Coleman shows off his technical abilities with long solos of nonstop runs.Throughout the album, Coleman's Trio alternates between frantic, almost frenetic lines of melody and improvisation, and long, harmony-challenging melodies. This album is among my favorites because it does just that, and it defies conventional jazz thinking.
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