Monk

MONK

by Larry Koenigsberg
March 8, 2004

by Laurent de Wilde Marlowe & Company (New York, 1997)

This is a biography with the flavor of a novel. Lacking any of the scholarly apparatus customary in a historical work -- no index, footnotes, bibliography, discography, or acknowledgments -- it nevertheless imposes a knowing and occasionally stylish sensibility on its treatment of the seminal jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk (1917 - 1982). To a large degree, though, it is less a biography than a meditation on ...

Monk: Harmony of Odd Numbers

by C. Michael Bailey
June 25, 2003

San Francisco Bay Area fixtures Chuck Bernstein, Si Perkoff, and Frank Passantino join forces to produce the finest Thelonious Monk recital of the new millennium. Gleefully, this trio has avoided the tried and true Monk classics; so do not expect to hear "’Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," or “Straight, No Chaser." Familiarity with these pieces only helps, but listening to this disc will readily provide you with all of the musical elements characteristic of the composer.

Spearheaded by drummer Chuck Berstein, ...

Thelonious Monk in Paris, 1969

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 24, 2023

On December 15, 1969, pianist Thelonious Monk was in Paris on tour with Charlie Rouse (ts) Nate Hygelund (b) and Austin “Paris" Wright (d), with Philly Joe Jones (d) playing on Nutty and Blue Monk. Hygelund was still a student at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. And Wright was only 17. Monk had asked his father, bassist Herman Wright, if he could take his son along on the road. Nine months ago, the complete broadcast of the quartet ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thelonious Monk

Source: Michael Ricci
October 10, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Thelonious Monk's birthday today!

With the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music— let alone modern culture—simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition, spanning the entire history of the music from the “stride” masters ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thelonious Monk

Source: Michael Ricci
October 10, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Thelonious Monk's birthday today!

With the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music— let alone modern culture—simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition, spanning the entire history of the music from the “stride” masters ...
read more

Thelonious Monk: Brussels, 1963

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 30, 2021

I'm loving these newly colorized jazz videos on YouTube. The trend began earlier this year, and the number of videos being given the hue treatment keeps multiplying. I'm not sure how or why so many are getting this makeover, but they certainly are move exciting and lively than the black and white originals. Case in point: In March 1963, the Thelonious Monk Quartet performed in Brussels as part of a European tour. Here's an hour of the group in color... ...
read more

Thelonious Monk Quartet: Jazz 625

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 27, 2021

My favorite Thelonious Monk quartet featured Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Monk on piano, Larry Gales on bass and Ben Riley on drums. The group was recorded extensively on tour and in the studio from 1964 to 1968. On March 14,1965, they were at the Marquee Club in London before a live audience for the BBC2's Jazz 625. The TV show's title refers to the BBC2's broadcast on 625-lines UHF rather than the 405-lines VHF system used by the other ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thelonious Monk

Source: Michael Ricci
October 10, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Thelonious Monk's birthday today!

With the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music— let alone modern culture—simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition, spanning the entire history of the music from the “stride” masters ...
read more

Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 24, 2020

There are no bad recordings of pianist Thelonious Monk together with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. Well, maybe two—when they were in a top-notch group assembled in the late 1940s to back a so-so vocalist named Frankie Passions, who recorded two lackluster pop songs. But starting in the fall of 1958, at New York's Five Spot, they began a working and recording relationship that lasted until 1969. Fortunately for us, most of their sessions were live. A new entry in the ...
read more

"The Monk Project" By Saxophonist Dan Willis & Velvet Gentlemen Due July 17 From Belle Avenue Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
June 7, 2020

Dan Willis puts his idiosyncratic spin on the tunes of the godfather of jazz idiosyncrasy with the July 17 release of The Monk Project (Belle Avenue). The saxophonist/multi-reedist’s fourth album with his ensemble Velvet Gentlemen—guitarist Pete McCann, keyboardist Ron Oswanski, bassist Evan Gregor, and drummer John Mettam (with special guests bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Ian Froman)—is an intriguing and highly exploratory set of performances that, like Thelonious Monk’s compositions, could never be mistaken for the work of anyone else. ...
read more

Leon Lee Dorsey Explores The Music Of Thelonious Monk On "MonkTime," Bassist's First Album In 20 Years, Available Now!

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
October 30, 2019

Twenty years after the release of his last album, bassist Leon Lee Dorsey reassumes the mantle of a recording artist in his own right with the September 13 release of MonkTime (Jazz Avenue 1 Records). The debut of Dorsey’s DSC Band, which also includes guitarist Greg Skaff and celebrated drummer Mike Clark, features the trio applying their potent chemistry to eight compositions by jazz titan Thelonious Monk. While Dorsey is himself a talented, accomplished composer and arranger, he brings a ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thelonious Monk

Source: Michael Ricci
October 10, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Thelonious Monk's birthday today!

With the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music— let alone modern culture—simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
read more