Misterioso is a Thelonious Monk composition that first appeared in a 1948 Blue Note session with vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The best known version is the 1958 live recording by the Thelonious Monk Quartet at the Five Spot Café in New York, released on the album Misterioso in December 1958. The quartet on the session includes Johnny Griffin on tenor sax, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums, and the record is considered a landmark hard bop live document. The title track is built on a series of major and minor sixths and showcases Monk’s distinctive use of blue notes and tonal shadings, with Griffin delivering a standout solo on In Walked Bud during the same show. The album cover reproduces Giorgio de Chirico’s The Seer, echoing Monk’s enigmatic public image.
