Thelonious Sphere Monk was 45 when he began work in 1962 on Monk's Dream, his first recording for a big mainstream label. Thus, the 8 tracks here, a mixture of Monk originals and standards, present the bop pianist at a career peak, documenting music that is both challenging and immediately accessible. Playing with his touring quartet, Monk makes each song his own, finding a typically quirky melody line within the romance of "Body and Soul" or the swing of "Bright Mississippi." Tenor saxman Charles Rouse adds some soothing horn soloing, but it's Monk's bright, intuitive playing that makes this a late bop milestone. Timeless. --Steve Appleford

Originally released in early 1963, Monk's Dream was the first Thelonious Monk album for Columbia. At the time this was recorded (fist sessions on Halloween, 1962), he had become one of the preeminent figures in contemporary jazz. His move to Columbia put him in the company of a couple of the era's other major talents and commercial successes, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck, and his quartet was stabilized for a couple years with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse (with him since 1958), bassist John Ore, and drummer Frankie Dunlop. This album set the format for his succeeding works for the label over the next half-dozen years: a few standards mixed with originals, most of which had been recorded earlier in his career (the only new composition is "Bright Mississippi," itself a variation on the chordal structure of "Sweet Georgia Brown"). However, these performances find Monk in exuberant good cheer. His playing sparkles with invention and the relaxation and calm of a career in well-deserved ascension. Critically under-celebrated in its day, Monk's Dream is rich with the confidence of a band at its peak. --David Greenberger