This is an historic record date with Thelonious Monk joining Art Blakey's 1957 edition of The Jazz Messengers. Monk had one important request when he agreed to do this date and that was it must include mostly Monk tunes. Monk and Blakey were best of friends and their Birthdays were one day apart Oct.10(Monk) and Oct 11(Blakey) so it was a fun date for all concerned. Blakey's Messengers included Cleveland-born trumpeter Bill Hardman and Chicago-born Johnny Griffin ("The Little Giant"), bassist James "Spanky" DeBrest and Blakey on drums and Monk on piano. All the tunes are Monk's except for the last tune which was written by Johnny Griffin and called "Purple Shades". This is an iconic and classic album which is our way of saying Happy Birthday to two men who shaped Jazz music forever.
