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Alex Conde
The singular music of jazz legend Thelonious Monk has been interpreted by countless players over the years. Great jazz pianists like Bud Powell, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Randy Weston, Barry Harris, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea have dealt with his unorthodox dissonances, angular melodic twists, percussive attack and dramatic use of silences and hesitations. Saxophonists from Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane to Steve Lacy and Anthony Braxton and trumpeters from Miles Davis and Chet Baker to Woody Shaw and Wallace Roney have covered Monk’s music. Others like salsa king Tito Puente and trumpeter- conguero Jerry Gonzalez and his Fort Apache Band have interpreted Monk’s idiosyncratic rhythms through their own Afro-Cuban prism while the great Andalusian pianist Chano Dominguez has offered a passionate flamenco spin on Monk.
What is it about Monk's music that makes it so 'ripe' for interpretation? “It’s because he’s so hip in so many ways!,” says the Valencia-born pianist-composer and current Bay Area resident Alex Conde. “I can’t imagine a more hip jazz pianist than Monk. And has there ever been a hip- per composer in the history of jazz? While his colleagues were playing at such a speed in the era of bebop, thousands of notes, he came along with such a unique tone, a cluster approach. Bang! Keeping a hot, alive swing feel was his goal. How can anybody resist or not feel attracted to such energy? I couldn’t keep myself away from his infectious style and compositions.”
On Descarga for Monk, his ZOHO Music debut (and second recording as a leader overall), the gifted 33-year-old pianist-composer and Chano Dominguez protege has his way with the high priest of bop in an adventurous all-Monk program that is teaming with the spirit of Spanish duende. Accompanied by the Bay Area rhythm tandem of bassist Jeff Chambers and drummer Jon Arkin, and featuring special guest percussion master John Santos, Conde draws on his own personal experiences in the rich flamenco tradition to craft a stirring set of music that pays tribute to Monk while taking great liberties with the familiar themes and rhythms of such staples as Bemsha Swing, Evidence, Monk’s Dream and others. From his fiery buleria interpretation of Played Twice to his clave-fueled Catalan rumba rendition of Thelonious, as well as dramatic solo piano extrapolations on Monk’s hauntingly beautiful ballads Pannonica and ‘Round Midnight, this flamenco flavored take on Monk is as inventive as it is invigorating.
The son of famed flamenco singer Alejandro Conde Sr., a superstar in the Cancion Española style, Alex reinvents Monk’s music with his remarkably flexible, highly interactive rhythm tandem of Chambers and Arkin while also showcasing his impeccable technique, remarkable chops and fertile imagination along the way. “As a flamenco pianist — I’ve been working for the last four years at a renowned US flamenco company, the Juan Siddi Flamenco Theatre Company, now fused with the prestigious Aspen Ballet Santa Fe — I understand something about keeping a solid groove, playing a precise cluster and making good use of rests and silence,” says the graduate of the Conservatorio Superior de Musica, Joaquin Rodrigo de Valencia who later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. “And because of that I feel deeply connected, as many other composers did too, to Monk from a compositional perspective and undoubtedly from a performance perspective as well.”
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Alex Conde: Descarga for Bud
by Mark Sullivan
Pianist, composer and arranger Alex Conde has a unique identity; he is a flamenco musician who combines flamenco with his jazz background. After the broad Latin fusion of Origins (Uprising/Ropeadope, 2018), Conde has returned to a focus on classic bebop. Like Descarga For Monk (Zoho Music, 2015), the pianist revisits a foundational bebop pianist. And the recording sessions took place in Oakland, with an ensemble which duplicates many of the players on the Monk sessions. Pianist Bud Powell ...
read moreAlex Conde: Descarga for Bud
by Troy Dostert
Having demonstrated his mastery of flamenco-flavored jazz on Origins (Uprising/Ropeadope, 2018) by featuring principally his own compositions, pianist Alex Conde has once again turned back to a bebop master of old--continuing a project he began with Descarga for Monk (Zoho Music) back in 2015. In this instance Bud Powell is the dedicatee, and Conde brings characteristic Latin flair to nine of Powell's compositions in a way that is both accomplished and engaging. There is a certain irony to ...
read moreAlex Conde: Origins
by Mark Sullivan
Spanish pianist/composer Alex Conde has roots in flamenco, but his influences range widely through Afro-Cuban and American jazz idioms. He is now based in New York City, a place with a pool of musicians ideally suited to the musical blend he creates. The origins" of the title refer to all of the pianist's roots, which he freely combines in a true fusion. On his previous album Descarga For Monk (Zoho Music, 2015) he interpreted Thelonious Monk compositions; here he features ...
read moreAlex Conde: Descarga for Monk
by Mark Sullivan
Spanish pianist-composer Alex Conde (currently residing in the Bay Area) unites his love of flamenco and the music of Thelonious Monk with these creative arrangements. Conde is a working flamenco musician, having spent the last four years with renowned U.S. flamenco company the Juan Siddi Flamenco Theatre Company. He also attended the Berklee College of Music, which may explain the fascination with Monk. He is accompanied by the Bay Area rhythm section of bassist Jeff Chambers and drummer John Arkin, ...
read moreRecorded at: Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA on April 30. June 19 and July 5, 2014. Sound Engineer: Adam Muñoz at Fantasy Studios. Mastering: Fernando Martinez. Producer: Alex Conde. Photos by: Thang Nguyen. Art on "piano photo background: Brian Goggin and Mauro Fortissimo. Art direction and design: Jack Frisch. Executive Producer: Joachim "Jochen" Becker. Publishing:TheloniousMonkCorp.(#1,2,3,4,6,7,0); WarnerBrosMusic,aDivisionofWarner Bros
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Think of One
From: Descarga for MonkBy Alex Conde
Ugly Beauty
From: Descarga for MonkBy Alex Conde