I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE

While the teaming of Thelonious Monk (piano) with John Coltrane (tenor sax) might "look better on paper," as the adage goes, rest assured the results are even better on the disc.

Does she mean something like "one might think that the pairing of Monk and Coltrane would be better on paper than on disc, but this is not the case," perhaps? Or am I just stupid? Yes?