Monk's Dream is a seminal jazz album from 1962. I like it because it gives me exactly that relaxed late night feeling I expect from classic jazz. My heretical theory on most good jazz music is that it flows and that it does not ask anything from the listener. That it is the opposite of obtrusive. That it rests in itself in a way. Monk's Dream is a perfect example. We have a quartet with a rhythm section of bass and drums plus piano and tenor sax providing the chords and harmonies. Everything is in equilibrium. I read that Monk has a special piano style. Probably he has but I am not experienced enough with it to confirm this. My favourite tracks on this album are the blues numbers. Blues Five Spot starts with a piano theme where the tones are following each other like the pearls on a bead. On Blue Bolivar Blues there is a lot of lyrical tenor sax. The improvisation quality of the saxophone which I love about this instrument is fully realised. Later on Monk plays single keys on the piano in a simple but memorable succession. He then improvises a little to the left and right and sax and piano come back to the motif. There is nothing spectacular about all this but this is exactly which is amazing. The ease and lightness of it all. There is nothing more satisfying after a "hard" office day than having a Weißbier or two and listening to this kind of untightening music.

P.S. It could well be that when I say jazz I mean bebop. For me that is the incarnation of jazz, I guess.

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