Monk’s music often sounds like something played by a brilliant and very strong six year old. The melodies are deceptively simple, yet full of tricks and quirks. Some Monk tunes evoke the sensation of almost stumbling over a crack in the sidewalk, then recovering without falling on your face. Monk is devious. He writes to test other musicians, to see if they can cut it, to separate the gold from the lead. The compositions are not so much difficult as subtle. It’s easy to hum a Monk tune, easy to let one of his lines slip into the rhythm of driving or shopping. His songs are like nursery rhymes made up by a man who is both autistic savant and cosmic seer. Monk seemed to live in several worlds simultaneously. The only location where all the worlds converged was in the piano . Monk’s music was so unconventional as to require use of elbows, forearms, crazed crushes of fingers. His right leg flopped like a hooked sturgeon when he played. He was famous for getting up and dancing a little jig while his sidemen solved the labyrinth of his chords. Were it not for the staggering originality of Monk’s ideas, he would never have been recognized, never acquired fans. He was barely functional and spent time in mental wards. Without his wife Nellie’s patient devotion, no one would know the name Thelonious Monk. It would be “What-lonius who?”
Whao! Professor, truly amazing. A little question, please. I wonder if you might know if the sound itself from these two artists…not even sure of the question. Maybe: is the sound from their instruments unique, or at least more developed or purer or something like that? Thank you.
Your understanding and appreciation of jazz and jazz musicians is always a delight to appreciate Brett. I learn things I never knew when I should have known them!
Your words light me up like no one else. It feels like I’m flying with my feet on the ground. My head expands. You draw a circle around the music and the players, then spin it to a sphere, then the sphere expands, shrinks, expands greater, like the universe, to beyond, then back to a point. apointe? A great breathless ride inside your story of their story in the music. Time travel. Thanks, again.
Amen. When I heard tapes of Monk practicing, I understood that he was not "making mistakes" or spontaneously creating original solos over unique chord progressions. He tested and edited every voicing and phrase, crafting them to be distinctively his own. There are stories of Monk dancing the music for a big band player who was puzzled by the notated part. With a guide like that, Coltrane, post addiction, blossomed, learning these sonic sculptures by rote. The patience, focus, attention to detail, and elite technical prowess are crystalline to the ear. I urge listeners to include the strong swing of Malik and Wilson as a vital foundation for this virtuosity. Was Elvin at the Five Spot listening to Coltrane and Monk? I have a hunch that Elvin and Jimmy provided a comfortably familiar groove when Coltrane staffed his own unit, helping Coltrane and McCoy to expand their own musical palette. Does anyone know stories behind "Shadowland" by Sara Cassey from the record titled Elvin on Riverside?
As soon as I began reading, I thought "Trinkle Tinkle". I've listened to this opus for decades. As a budding pianist I can hear things that are way over my head. This week I devised a single piano exercise that opens a "monkish" corridor of harmony. It's such fun! This is a great essay,
Bret. I'm posting, separately, a paragraph from my essay on Jessica Williams, the late piano genius.
Are these photos A.I. generated? Really rubs me the wrong way if that is the case, especially when there are so many amazing photos of Coltrane and Monk in the public domain.
Monk’s music often sounds like something played by a brilliant and very strong six year old. The melodies are deceptively simple, yet full of tricks and quirks. Some Monk tunes evoke the sensation of almost stumbling over a crack in the sidewalk, then recovering without falling on your face. Monk is devious. He writes to test other musicians, to see if they can cut it, to separate the gold from the lead. The compositions are not so much difficult as subtle. It’s easy to hum a Monk tune, easy to let one of his lines slip into the rhythm of driving or shopping. His songs are like nursery rhymes made up by a man who is both autistic savant and cosmic seer. Monk seemed to live in several worlds simultaneously. The only location where all the worlds converged was in the piano . Monk’s music was so unconventional as to require use of elbows, forearms, crazed crushes of fingers. His right leg flopped like a hooked sturgeon when he played. He was famous for getting up and dancing a little jig while his sidemen solved the labyrinth of his chords. Were it not for the staggering originality of Monk’s ideas, he would never have been recognized, never acquired fans. He was barely functional and spent time in mental wards. Without his wife Nellie’s patient devotion, no one would know the name Thelonious Monk. It would be “What-lonius who?”
A key booster for Monk was Alfred Lion's wife Maxine, who encouraged Alfred to record Monk on Blue Note.
Whao! Professor, truly amazing. A little question, please. I wonder if you might know if the sound itself from these two artists…not even sure of the question. Maybe: is the sound from their instruments unique, or at least more developed or purer or something like that? Thank you.
Wow, Len, that's an essay in itself. I'll just say this, music like most art, is totally subjective. It either speaks to you, or it doesn't.
I dug Monk's playing in terpsicorian mode. An underappreciated element of his singular art.
Your understanding and appreciation of jazz and jazz musicians is always a delight to appreciate Brett. I learn things I never knew when I should have known them!
Your words light me up like no one else. It feels like I’m flying with my feet on the ground. My head expands. You draw a circle around the music and the players, then spin it to a sphere, then the sphere expands, shrinks, expands greater, like the universe, to beyond, then back to a point. apointe? A great breathless ride inside your story of their story in the music. Time travel. Thanks, again.
Amen. When I heard tapes of Monk practicing, I understood that he was not "making mistakes" or spontaneously creating original solos over unique chord progressions. He tested and edited every voicing and phrase, crafting them to be distinctively his own. There are stories of Monk dancing the music for a big band player who was puzzled by the notated part. With a guide like that, Coltrane, post addiction, blossomed, learning these sonic sculptures by rote. The patience, focus, attention to detail, and elite technical prowess are crystalline to the ear. I urge listeners to include the strong swing of Malik and Wilson as a vital foundation for this virtuosity. Was Elvin at the Five Spot listening to Coltrane and Monk? I have a hunch that Elvin and Jimmy provided a comfortably familiar groove when Coltrane staffed his own unit, helping Coltrane and McCoy to expand their own musical palette. Does anyone know stories behind "Shadowland" by Sara Cassey from the record titled Elvin on Riverside?
As soon as I began reading, I thought "Trinkle Tinkle". I've listened to this opus for decades. As a budding pianist I can hear things that are way over my head. This week I devised a single piano exercise that opens a "monkish" corridor of harmony. It's such fun! This is a great essay,
Bret. I'm posting, separately, a paragraph from my essay on Jessica Williams, the late piano genius.
Wow. Thanks for this.
Bret, this is a fine piece. I think it's the best writing on Monk's music I've encountered.
Are these photos A.I. generated? Really rubs me the wrong way if that is the case, especially when there are so many amazing photos of Coltrane and Monk in the public domain.
Fantastic insight! loved this. Thank you