Monk at Newport 1963 and 1965

The most remarkable aspect of this set is that the second disc, from 1965, had never been released in any form prior to 2002, but doggedly persistent sleuthing found the poorly labeled tapes in the label's vaults. Both sets adhere to Monk's standard repertoire of the era, with the most potent surprises coming with the heretofore-unheard material. The extended take of "Ruby, My Dear" shows how this emotionally resilient melody opened itself to the fertile explorations of both Monk and his longtime tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. The two dates sport different rhythm sections, though both fully understand the subtle push and pull essential to the compositions. --David Greenberger