Thelonious Monk / Sonny Rollins

This compilation brilliantly bundles several mid-1950s Prestige studio dates featuring the formidable pairing of piano eccentric Thelonious Monk and tenor saxophone titan Sonny Rollins. The recordings perfectly document the transition of bebop into the heavier, more blues-inflected rhythms of hard bop. The remarkable interplay between Monk's highly percussive, dissonant comping and Rollins' muscular, fluid improvisations makes this an indispensable artifact of post-war jazz innovation.