Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (VG/VG) – LP, US 1957

Brilliant Corners is an LP by Thelonious Monk from 1957 released on the Riverside Records label.

About this album

Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk at his most inventive and uncompromising, and one of hard bop’s defining statements. Issued in 1957, the album became famous for its difficult title track, but its real achievement is how Monk turns sharp angles, unusual phrasing and rhythmic surprise into lasting melodies. With pieces such as Pannonica and Bemsha Swing, he balances complexity with deep feeling, while I Surrender, Dear shows his singular approach to standards. Recorded with an exceptional small group and long revered by critics, the album helped establish Monk as one of jazz’s greatest composers and bandleaders.