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Monk's Music Trio

Drummer Chuck Bernstein was born in San Francisco California on October 28, 1940. He studied tap dance (1951-1953) and sang in the Beth Israel Junior Choir (1954-1955). Mainly self-taught, Chuck began playing drums in August 1955. Later, he studied with Art Flower at Drumland (1964-1965), John Rae (1964), George Marsh (1979-1981), and Scott Morris (1994-1995). Chuck was also a contributing writer for Modern Drummer magazine (1981-1985)--best known for his interviews with Shelly Manne, Billy Higgins, and George Marsh. A highly adaptable musician, he has performed in a variety of musical settings, from Blues to Rock to Jazz: (Blues) Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, Freddie Roulette, Mike Henderson, Lisa Kindred, and Nick Gravenites; (Rock) Barry Melton, John Cippolina, Peter Albin, Mike Wilhelm, John Kahn, Billy Roberts, and Greg Douglas; (Jazz) Roswell Rudd, Norma Teagarden, John Rae, Don Prell, Smith Dobson, Mel Graves, Mike Formanek, Chuck Travis, Don Alberts, Al Obidinski, George Maribus, Jon Erikson, Vince Wallace, Steve Weber, Max Perkoff, Paul Breslin, and Sweetie Mitchell. Chuck has also performed in Japan with pianists Sadayasu Fujii, "Tad" Sakai, Vibist Hiroshi Matsumoto, and guitarists Takeshi Yamaguchi and Satoshi Inoue. Major influences: Shelly Manne, "Papa" Jo Jones, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, and Thelonious Monk.

The following is a complete list of drummers who have also had a major impact on my drumming. Everyone of these drummers is a Jazz Master. I have spent many hours learning and listening to each of these marvelous individuals create magic and beauty from behind their drumsets. I am forever in their debt: Benny Barth, Dick Berk, Art Blakey, Roy Brooks, Frank Butler, Big Sid Catlett, Jimmy Cobb, Alan Dawson, Warren Baby Dodds, Frankie Dunlop, Vernell Fournier, Louis Hayes, Billy Higgins, Osie Johnson, Philly Joe Jones, Connie Kay, Gene Krupa, Vince Lateano, Mel Lewis, Lawrence Marable, George Marsh, Scott Morris, Buddy Rich, Ben Riley, Mickey Roker, Grady Tate, Ed Thigpen, Shadow Wilson, and Specs Wright.

From 1969 to 1985, I played Blues, Rock, and R&B. During those years, the following individuals were very influential: Tim Davis (Steve Miller), Jim Gordon (Derek and the Dominoes), Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane), Richie Hayward (Little Feat), Levon Helm (The Band), Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix), Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters), Bernard Purdie (Recording Legend), Ringo Starr (The Beatles), Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson (The Allman Brothers), and Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones).

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366
Album Review

Chuck Bernstein: Delta Berimbau Blues

Read "Delta Berimbau Blues" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins


It's good when it's possible to step out of a comfort zone to appreciate (if not love) unfamiliar styles. The same can be said of artists who break from instruments they're known for. Chuck Bernstein goes one further with Delta Berimbau Blues.Bernstein is a versatile drummer, but for this project, he employs the berimbau, a single-stringed gourd instrument popular in Brazil and similar to the Diddley bow, an early blues instrument. Bernstein, who once led the Monk's Music ...

131
Album Review

Monk's Music Trio: Monk On Mondays

Read "Monk On Mondays" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Drummer Chuck Bernstein, pianist Si Perkoff and bassist Sam Bevan --collectively known as Monk's Music Trio--have been playing the music of Thelonious Monk at the Simple Pleasures Café in San Francisco on Monday nights since 1999. That makes them the longest of the repertory bands performing Monk's music. Time has also given them an insight into the compositions, enough for them to give them a twist and keep them interesting.

The trio is comfortable in the zone of Monk's music. ...

234
Album Review

Monk's Music Trio: Monk's Bones

Read "Monk's Bones" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


The music of Thelonious Monk has been constructed, reconstructed and deconstructed over the years. Some players have tried to ape him, which is quite natural, but not necessarily successful. Others have filtered his music through their own prisms and have succeeded in introducing different constructs.Among the latter group are Chuck Bernstein, Si Perkoff, and Sam Bevan--known as Monk's Music Trio, a name that makes their reason for their being quite clear. On this, their third outing, they bring ...

201
Album Review

Monk's Music Trio: Monk's Bones

Read "Monk's Bones" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Except for a surrealistic version of “Friday The 13th, Monk's Bones offers straightforward interpretations of nine Thelonious Monk compositions. The third recording by Monk's Music Trio adds the trombones of Roswell Rudd, a longtime exponent of Monk's work, and Max Perkoff, the son of the band's pianist, Si Perkoff.

All of the tracks profit from the differences between Rudd's eccentric Dixieland-to-1960s-avant-garde effusions and the younger Perkoff's full-bodied, more conventional style. Some of the record's finest moments consist of the slippery ...

139
Album Review

Monk's Music Trio: Monk's Bones

Read "Monk's Bones" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


Think of One: A swinging trio with two outrageous trombones.

If you're wondering whether this is just another Thelonious Monk tribute, think again, because the Monk's Music Trio ups the ante in every way, continuing to creatively explore the music of one of jazz's most celebrated pianists. Monk's Bones is the trio's third release, following Harmony of Odd Numbers and Think of One. Led by jazz drummer Chuck Berstein, pianist Si Perkoff, and bassist Sam Bevan, the latest recording is ...

129
Album Review

Monk's Music Trio: Think Of One

Read "Think Of One" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


Without a doubt, there is nothing quite like the music of Thelonious Monk. The unconventional pianist created music that still flourishes today, marked by his percussive style, odd rhythmic patterns, and a unique sense of melody that has influenced countless musicians and enthusiasts. It continues to thrive on the new release Think of One by the Monk's Music Trio.

The trio was formed by San Francisco veteran drummer Chuck Bernstein and produced the well-received recording Harmony of Odd Numbers (CMB, ...

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114

Performance / Tour

Monk's Music Trio Appearing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival Wednesday, October 24, 8PM

Monk's Music Trio Appearing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival Wednesday, October 24, 8PM

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Monk's Music Trio Chuck Bernstein-drums, Si Perkoff-piano, Sam Bevan-bass Appearing At The San Francisco Jazz Festival Wednesday, October 24, 8PM at the Great American Music Hall Opening for the T.S. Monk Sextet New CD Monk's Music Trio Monk On Monday (CMB Records 102843 Street Date: September 1, 2007) What The Press Is Saying About Monk On Monday: MONK'S MUSIC TRIO/Monk on Mondays: One of the longest running of ...

147

Performance / Tour

Monk's Music Trio plus Roswell Rudd and Max Perkoff Saturday, April 8th Jazz at Pearl's

Monk's Music Trio plus Roswell Rudd and Max Perkoff Saturday, April 8th  Jazz at Pearl's

Source: All About Jazz

Monk's Music Trio plus Roswell Rudd and Max Perkoff

A One-Time-Only Meeting in San Francisco of this famed group devoted to Monk tunes featuring legendary trombonists Roswell Rudd & Max Perkoff.

Monk's Music Trio featuring very special guests Roswell Rudd and Max Perkoff on trombones with Chuck Bernstein, drums, Si Perkoff, piano Sam Bevan, bass

Saturday, April 8, 2006 Jazz at Pearl's 256 Columbus Ave San Francisco, Calif 94133 www.jazzatpearls.com ...

"With sonic associations suggesting Mississippi Delta blues, Native American folk music, and sounds from the heart of the Amazonian rain forest, Bernstein's primordial berimbau proves an improbable yet imaginative means of expanding the Monkian palette."

Dr. Chuck Berg, University of Kansas, Down Beat, Jazz Times, Coda, and the Oxford Companion to Jazz

"What is it that makes this music relevant and different? For one, the use of the berimbau on "Friday the 13th". The single-string instrument resonates in the Delta blues, Bernstein tapping the feel and then getting the percussive shakers to add to the motif. His playing is inspired, entering a different dimension, and for certain would make Monk salivate."

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Monk On Mondays

CMB Records
2007

buy

Monk's Bones

CMB Records
2006

buy

Think Of One

CMB Records
2005

buy

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