Anthony Braxton: Four in One

Since the mid-'70s, Braxton has periodically recorded in the tradition, playing standard repertoire with piano-trio accompaniment. His 1987 set of Thelonious Monk covers is a curious offshoot of that series, focusing on a composer whose work had once been considered avant-garde but was subsequently assimilated into the jazz mainstream. Four In One is a notorious whirligig of a tune, and Braxton charges breathlessly in. Waldrons solo complements the leaders perfectlywhere Braxton further scrambles the melody, Waldron streamlines it, a masterful Monk interpreter getting right to the heart of the song