Sphere

On February 17, 1982—the same date Thelonious Monk passed away—Sphere, a group formed expressly to celebrate the pianist’s work, captured a collection of his compositions. Although the ensemble had been assembled as a tribute, its repertoire soon expanded to encompass both original pieces and other jazz standards throughout its run. The lineup, featuring Monk’s longtime tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse alongside pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, and former drummer Ben Riley, cut sessions for Elektra Musician, Red, and Verve, among them a program devoted to Charlie Parker material. Following Rouse’s death on November 30, 1988, the quartet disbanded, only to regroup a decade later when saxophonist Gary Bartz took Rouse’s chair; that reunion yielded the self-titled comeback album issued in 1998.