"Evidence" was recorded live at the Five Spot Cafe on August 7, 1958, for Thelonious Monk's album Misterioso. This Monk composition, based on the chord changes of "Just You, Just Me" but with a radically reimagined melody, features extended solos from three of the quartet's four members. Johnny Griffin opens with six choruses of tenor saxophone over the 32-bar AABA form in E-flat, his quicksilver lines and rhythmic dexterity creating a solo of exhilarating momentum. Monk follows with five piano choruses that demonstrate his singular conception, each phrase a study in rhythmic displacement and harmonic surprise. Drummer Roy Haynes closes with two choruses that reveal his extraordinary musicality, his solos structured with the logic and melodic sense of a melodic instrument. Evidence is one of Monk's most rhythmically challenging compositions, its syncopated melody testing even the most accomplished improvisers. Griffin and Monk approach the challenge from opposite directions: Griffin with flurries of notes that negotiate the rhythmic puzzles through sheer velocity, Monk with deliberate, spaced phrases that seem to exist outside conventional time. Ahmed Abdul-Malik provides steady bass support throughout this extended performance.
