As my good friend said to me when we listened to this after a dinner party "Monk plays like he's falling down some stairs". I do have a favourite in this one, and it's Blue Monk. His technique was still quite polished here, but you can definitely already feel the clumsy genius taking over and redefining jazz. Of all the cats that played in New York in the 50's, Thelonious Monk is the one that truly makes me smell the smokey, alcohol infused, jazz-club air. This recording in particular is brilliant, also because of the harmony of the trio. Bass, drums and piano never sounded better.