Thelonious Monk: Ruby, My Dear (with John Coltrane)

Choosing just one version of Ruby, My Dear as Monks finest is no easy task. This one stands out for Monks strong comping behind John Coltrane, who states the theme and then launches into a romantic solo that strays farther and farther from the melody before coming back around to join it. Monk plays with restraint, never giving in to the urge to splash his perverse tendencies onto Coltranes canvas. When he does finally solo, it is with a reverence for his own composition. This two-disc set also includes a version of Ruby, My Dear from a few weeks earlier that featured Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax, with similarly satisfying results. Also worth hunting down: a sweet, unaccompanied version on the Columbia album Solo Monk and an 11-minute version that Monks quintet recorded at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival.