Thelonious Monk /  Sonny Rollins
Thelonious Monk created some of his most innovative music during the period in the early '50s when he recorded for Prestige, and Sonny Rollins was in the forefront of the few musicians who could respond to Monk's challenging compositions and sharp-angled, dissonant comping. It's apparent in the way the two transform the standards "The Way You Look Tonight" and "I Want to Be Happy," Rollins soaring through the former and bringing wry wit to the latter. Monk's "Friday the 13th" is heard in an extended performance with Rollins and French-horn playerJulius Watkins--challenging, probing music.--Stuart Broomer