The Thelonious Monk Orchestra - The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall

The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, originally released in 1959 via Riverside Records.

Thelonious Monk (1917 – 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Monk 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, which is particularly remarkable as Ellington composed more than 1,000 pieces, whereas Monk wrote about 70.

His compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists, and are consistent with Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations.

He was renowned for his distinctive style in suits, hats, and sunglasses. He was also noted for an idiosyncratic habit observed at times during performances: while the other musicians in the band continued playing, he would stop, stand up from the keyboard, and dance for a few moments before returning to the piano.

Monk is one of five jazz musicians to have been featured on the cover of Time, after Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, and Duke Ellington and before Wynton Marsalis.

The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie"). The album was recorded in concert in New York City on 28 February 1959.

The concert features, among others, Charlie Rouse on tenor in his first of several recordings with Monk.

The album was produced by Orrin Keepnews and the musicians who played on these recordings were:

• Thelonious Monk — piano
• Donald Byrd — trumpet
• Eddie Bert — trombone
• Robert Northern — French horn
• Jay McAllister — tuba
• Phil Woods — alto saxophone
• Charlie Rouse — tenor saxophone
• Pepper Adams — baritone saxophone
• Sam Jones — bass
• Art Taylor — drums

Check out a couple of tracks from the album:  Friday The 13th, Thelonius, Off Minor and Little Rootie Tootie (No. 1).

This LP Record is a "Back to Black" Reissue on 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl with a Digital Download Card, pressed in Europe.