Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third album for Riverside, and the first on the label to lean this heavily into his own original material.
If you've ever found yourself a little too used to the idiosyncratic brilliance of Monk's playing, or the near-arithmetical logic of his chord progressions, Brilliant Corners is the one to come back to.
There’s a real freshness and vitality running through every measure here. And with the benefit of time, it feels even more remarkable to hear a group of musicians able to meet Monk on his own terms, supporting him with such sharp, ironic precision.