Thelonious Monk: Well, You Needn't (1957)

Anytime you can get tenor sax giants Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane in a room together, the result is bound to be explosive. Add Monk and his bebop classic Well, You Neednt to the mix, and youve got some military-grade dynamite. Coltranes and Hawkins solos are separated by several minutes, but that does nothing to lessen their impact. Monks composition gives the musicians all the framework they need to blow the roof off the studio. And lets not forget the pianist himself. He saves his own solo for last and throws in unexpected notes, pauses and runs. This reading of Well, You Neednt is the bomb.