Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington.
Buell Neidlinger was an American cellist and double bassist. He has worked with a variety of pop and jazz performers, prominently with iconoclastic pianist Cecil Taylor in the 1950s and '60s.
Soprano Sax is the debut album by Steve Lacy which was released on the Prestige label in 1958. It features performances by Lacy, Wynton Kelly, Buell Neidlinger and Dennis Charles.
The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy is the third album by Steve Lacy and the first to be released on the Candid label in 1961. It features performances of tunes written by Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor and Miles Davis by Lacy, Charles Davis, John Ore and Roy Haynes.
Trickles is the first album by Steve Lacy to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. It features performances of five of Lacy's compositions by Lacy, Roswell Rudd, Kent Carter and Beaver Harris.
Only Monk is the third album by Steve Lacy to be released on the Italian Soul Note label. It features solo performances of nine tunes written by Thelonious Monk by Lacy. It is the second solo album composed totally of Monk's compositions recorded by Lacy following Eronel (1979) and follows a tradition established on Lacy's second album Reflections (1958) and Epistrophy (1969).
More Monk is an album by Steve Lacy. It features solo saxophone performances of eleven tunes written by Thelonious Monk.
Sempre Amore is an album by Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1987. It features duo performances of tunes written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.
Communiqué is an album by Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1997. It features duo performances of tunes written by Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Elmo Hope and originals by Lacy and Waldron.
New York City R&B is a 1961 free jazz album originally recorded at a session by bassist Buell Neidlinger but subsequently reissued under joint names with the pianist Cecil Taylor. It was produced by Nat Hentoff. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "This music is quite advanced for the period although more accessible to the average listener than Taylor's later recordings; at least one can hear his connection to the bebop tradition and to Duke Ellington".
Jumpin' Punkins is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded for the Candid label in January 1961 but not issued in the States until 1987. The first release was in Japan by Victor in 1977 as Cecil Taylor All Stars Featuring Buell Neidlinger. The album features performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Buell Neidlinger and Denis Charles with Billy Higgins, Clark Terry, Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy and Charles Davis added on one track. Additional recordings from these sessions were released on New York City R&B in 1971 and Cell Walk for Celeste in 1988.
Jazz Advance is the debut album by pianist Cecil Taylor recorded for the Transition label in September 1956. The album features performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, Denis Charles and Steve Lacy.
Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 is a live album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in Paris in 1981 and released by the Hathut label. The four-CD box set combines recordings previously released on the LPs Snake Out in 1983, Herbe De L'oubli in 1986 and Let's Call This in 1986, with additional recordings from the concert series. The recordings were also released as two double-CD sets Live at Dreher, Paris 1981: Round Midnight Vol. 1 and Live at Dreher, Paris 1981: The Peak Vol. 2.
The Super Quartet Live at Sweet Basil is a live album by jazz pianist Mal Waldron featuring soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded at Sweet Basil in New York City in 1987 and released on the Japanese Paddle Wheel label.
I Remember Thelonious is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Mal Waldron recorded in Italy in 1992 and released on the Nel Jazz label.
Straight Ahead is an album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.
Six Monk's Compositions (1987) is an album by American saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1987 for the Italian Black Saint label. The album features Braxton's interpretations of compositions by Thelonious Monk.
5 x Monk 5 x Lacy is a live solo album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in Sweden in 1994 and released on the Silkheart label.
We See, subtitled Thelonious Monk Songbook, is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, which was recorded in Switzerland in 1992 and first released on the hat ART label in 1993. The album was rereleased in 2002 with an additional track from the concert.
Let's Call This... Esteem is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Mal Waldron recorded in Oxford in 1993 and released on the Slam label.
