Monday, May 1st
two takes
Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), “Hackensack”
Anat Fort, live, Israel (Tel Aviv), 2015
***
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Larry Gayle, bass; Ben Riley, drums), live (TV show), London, 1965
music clip of the day
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Tag: Thelonious Monk
2017
2016
Tuesday, October 25th
like nobody else
Ran Blake (1935-), “‘Round Midnight” (T. Monk), live, Italy (Milan), 2015
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Not quite dark yet
and the stars shining
above the withered fields.—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
2016
Tuesday, June 21st
never enough
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Larry Gales, bass; Ben Riley, drums), “Rhythm-a-Ning” (T. Monk), live, London, 1966
2016
Tuesday, May 10th
never enough
What do I watch when he’s at the piano? His feet.
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano, compositions; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Larry Gales, bass; Ben Riley, drums), live, France (Amiens), 1966
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lagniappe
reading table
Thought forms in the soul in the same way clouds form in the air.
—Joseph Joubert (1754-1824), 1786 (The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, translated from French by Paul Auster)
(Thanks to Orange Crate Art for introducing me to Joubert.)
2016
Saturday, April 2nd
American in Paris
Steve Lacy Trio, live, Paris, 1982
*****
lagniappe
musical thoughts
‘Make the drummer sound good.’
—Steve Lacy, recalling Thelonious Monk’s advice (Robin D. G. Kelly, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original [2009]])
2015
Tuesday, March 3rd
never enough
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; John Ore, bass; Frankie Dunlop, drums), “Nutty,” “Bemsha Swing,” “Epistrophy,” “Crepuscule with Nellie,” “I Mean You,” live (TV show), Netherlands, 1961
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lagniappe
art beat
William Klein (1928-), Baseball Cards, New York 1955
2014
Tuesday, November 18th
four takes
“Lulu’s Back In Town” (A. Dubin, H. Warren)
Fats Waller (studio recording), 1935
***
Art Tatum (live), 1935
***
Thelonious Monk (live, Paris; Charlie Rouse [tenor saxophone], Larry Gales [bass], Ben Riley [drums]), 1966
***
Jason Moran (live, New York [East Village apt.]), 2011
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lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), New York, c. 1940
2014
Friday, October 10th
Happy Birthday, Thelonious!
Thelonious Monk, October 10, 1917-February 17, 1982, pianist, composer, bandleader
Live (TV studio),* Paris, 1969
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
A note can be as big as a mountain, or small as a pin. It only depends on a musician’s imagination.
—Thelonious Monk (Robin D. G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original)
*****
radio
WKCR-FM (Columbia University): all Monk, all day.
*****
*Set list:
1. Dreamland
2. Monk’s Mood (Version 1)
3. Thelonious
4. Reflections
5. Epistrophy
6. Round Midnight
7. Crepuscule With Nellie
8. Ugly Beauty
9. Monk’s Mood (Version 2)
10. Don’t Blame Me
11. Coming On The Hudson
12. Nice Work If You Can Get It
2013
Monday, September 30th
never enough
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano, compositions; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Larry Gales, bass; Ben Riley, drums), “Epistrophy,” “Straight, No Chaser,” “Hackensack,” “Rhythm-a-Ning,” “Epistrophy,” live (TV show, Jazz 625 [BBC]), England, mid-’60s
2013
Tuesday, June 11th
two takes
“Lulu’s Back In Town” (H. Warren & A. Dubin)
Fats Waller, recording, 1935
***
Thelonious Monk Quartet (TM, piano; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Larry Gales, bass; Ben Riley, drums), live (TV studio), Norway (Oslo), 1960
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
A note can be as small as a pin or as big as the world. It depends on your imagination.
music clip of the day 