Jazz | Pint | Monk Plays Ellington

I was listening to Pablo Held's interview with Ben Street earlier today (be sure check out Held's other interview too - great series), and had bass players on my mind when it came to tonight's listening. I didn't have anything in mind, but when I spotted the Monk set in the pile, the Oscar Pettiford/Kenny Clarke pairing was the first thing that came to mind. And here were are. Of Monk's discs on Riverside, it was be a toss up between Monk Plays Ellington and Brilliant Corners as to the album I've listened to the most. It just so happens that Pettiford is on both. (Thelonious Himself would more than likely be third if you're wondering). Pettiford and Clarke have such a great flow - it sounds effortless. As the bass was on my mind, I tended to focus in that direction tonight. Such clarity in his lines and his tone. Tonight, the brief moments when his walking lines moved into the higher register seemed to pop out at me. And the buoyancy of "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" really appeals to me. And the 3.57-4.10 mark during O.P's solo on "Caravan" always sticks out to me. Kenny Clarke is very understated throughout - in the best way possible. Economy of swing at its finest. Fantastic brush playing. Actually, he spends the vast majority of the album on brushes. The sticks aren't missed at all (they make a brief appearance on "Caravan"). Super tasty. Of course it's not just O.P and Klook grooving - Monk plays his part too!

The Houblon is not by favourite of the Chouffe beers, but it made a change and I hadn't had one in ages (actually it was my first Chouffe since moving home). Maybe not a great match with the music, but it really didn't matter.

Music for Commuting: Even More Monk Monk Monk Monk Monk Monk

Last week I wrapped up the Thelonious Monk albums on Riverside - 5 By Monk By 5, Alone In San Francisco, At the Blackhawk, Monk In France, In Italy, and San Francisco Holiday. Of these I'm most familiar with the first two albums. I particularly enjoy the pairing of Thad Jones alongside Charlie Rouse on 5 By Monk By 5. And it made me realize that I haven't listened to that much from Thad. "Jackie-Ing" and "Played Twice" got stuck in my mind on more than one occasion (and I started working on the latter during my lunch breaks in the park). It has been nice having the box set keep me company in the car. Monk sure had some nice rhythm section pairings - Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke/Art Blakey/Max Roach, Wilbur Ware and Art Blakey, Ahmed Abdul-Malik and Roy Haynes, John Ore and Billy Higgins (I don't think Higgins recorded much with Monk but I dug his work on At The Blackhawk), Sam Jones and Art Taylor.... not bad at all. Now I just need to work out what to pick for the coming weeks. 

Music for Commuting: More Monk Monk Monk Monk Monk

The Riverside albums of Thelonious Monk have continued keep me company on the road each day. This week I had the next five albums cued up: Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, Mulligan Meets Monk, Thelonious in Action, Misterioso, The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall. I've probably had my fill of Johnny Griffin for now. He could use and editor, but at the same time he provides a contrast to Monk. His bluesy bebopping with touches of quirkiness had me thinking of my friend Johnny Lippiett (Hi Johnny!). Mulligan recorded a few “Meets” albums but this one doesn’t really do it for me, although I do like the sound of Monk on baritone. I plan to round-out the box set next week.

Music for Commuting: Monk Monk Monk Monk Monk

Five drives to work, five Monk albums - Plays Duke Ellington, The Unique Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Thelonious Himself, Monk's Music. This week I started working my way through the 15 albums Thelonious Monk recorded for Riverside. Of the Riverside albums, it's the earlier albums with which I'm most familiar -  The Unique Thelonious Monk being the exception. After many years in hibernation, I've been listening to Monk on a far more regular basis over the last few years. A most worthwhile re-exploration.

Music for Commuting: Clangs, Golden Circle and It Club

This week's listening featured more discs from the boxes with which I have been reunited. The week kicked off with Ornette's At the Golden Circle (Volume 1). It's far from my favourite Ornette, but I enjoyed it more than I remembered, and eventually I'll pick up Volume 2. Then there was Lacy's Clangs - a largish ensemble (double sextet) recording from 1992. This one deserves a bit more attention (don't they all?!), so I'll have to sit down with it sometime away from the rumble of the road. I picked up Monk's Live at the It Club early last year, but this was the first time that I had managed to give it a spin (although I had listened to it previously courtesy of the library while I was at music school). Monk made for good driving music so expect to see more coming up from Thelonious.

Straight Horning: Only Monk - More Monk

Over the last few weeks a couple of Soul Note releases from Steve Lacy - Only Monk and More Monk (from 1985 & 1989 respectively) - have been getting plenty of airtime around the apartment. I've been working on a few of Monk's melodies and aside of Thelonious' recordings (including Brilliant Corners, Monk Alone, Monk's Dream, and selected Blue Note tracks) my next point of call were these two solo albums from Lacy (followed by a few others such as We See and Reflections).

Anyone interested in Monk's music needs to check out Lacy's truly personal approach to this music. For me, Lacy boils things down to the essentials. Not that his playing is minimalist, but there is a stripped-back quality to Lacy's music that appeals to me. Notes never go to waste as he dives deep into the tune. He never seems in a hurry and the improvisations unfold in surprising ways, yet naturally - not forced. For those not familiar with his own compositions, this may be more evident when he plays Monk tunes (perhaps even more so on these solo recordings).

It's hard to play favourites with these two equally solid albums. If you can only go for one, just pick the album with the tunes you prefer.

I would love to hear Eronel from 1979, which I think is Lacy's first solo album to feature an all-Monk playlist. My fingers are crossed for a re-issue to appear.

More Bedside Listening

John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet: Flight for Four (Flying Dutchman) This album has been sitting on my "to listen to" pile and I finally got around to it. Mark Weber put me onto this quartet and I'm glad he did (Mark recently posted on John Carter here).

Sal Mosca: The Talk of the Town - Live at the Bimhaus (Sunnyside) This 2CD set of live solo piano from 1992 released earlier this year is an absolute gem. Wonderfully recorded, the album has a very intimate feel - it's almost as if you are a fly-on-the-wall in Sal's studio. Be on the lookout for more Mosca - I understand a box set is due out towards the end of the year. Hopefully these releases will bring more attention to a very underrated pianist.

Dizzy Gillespie: Perceptions (Verve) Earlier in the year I was checking out recordings associated with the Third Stream and I came across Perceptions. The music was written by J.J Johnson and Gunther Schuller conducts a brass ensemble, harps and rhythm section as they back Gillespie. The suite showcases the lyrical side of Dizzy's playing that many don't associate with him (myself included). I finally found a copy in August (at the Jazz Record Mart) and over the past month it has been getting some airtime.

Sonny Rollins: Rollins Meets Hawk! (RCA) I hadn't listened to this album for years and I have to say I've really enjoyed getting back into it. I first heard this album back in '99 when Norman Meehan played it to our jazz history class, not really for Sonny & Hawk, but for Paul Bley (check out Norm's book with Bley - Time Will Tell). Bley is outstanding and although I know people who don't really dig Rollins' here, I'm enjoying it. A bunch of live Rollins quartet recordings with Don Cherry are now available and I'm looking forward to checking them out (eventually!).

Thelonious Monk: Brillant Corners (Riverside) I have been learning a few of Monk's melodies and this was one of the recordings I listened to while working on "Pannonica." This may well be my favourite Monk album. Another album I hadn't listened to for ages and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Ernie Henry's contribution on alto.