Thelonious is a 1953 studio album by Thelonious Monk, released as a 10-inch LP on Prestige. It features the Thelonious Monk Trio with Gary Mapp on bass and drums by Art Blakey on tracks 1–4 and Max Roach on tracks 5–8. The recordings were made in New York City at Beltone Studios on October 15 and December 18, 1952.
Key facts:
- Genre: Jazz
- Original format: 10-inch LP (PrLP 142), about 24 minutes total
- Notable tracks include Little Rootie Tootie, Bye Ya, Monk's Dream, Trinkle, Tinkle, Bemsha Swing, and Reflections
- All compositions by Monk, with Bemsha Swing co-written with Denzil Best
- The album was later expanded into the 12-inch Thelonious Monk Trio
- Rarely reissued in its original 10-inch form; a Craft Records box set in 2017 collected the material
Story in brief: Thelonious captures Monk’s lean, inventive piano language in concise performances, marking some of his earliest Prestige recordings and highlighting his early ensembles and accessible, compact formulations.
