[Dixielandjazz] Petters on Monk

[Stephen G Barbone]

> john petters <jdpetters at btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> Just enjoying the Thelonius Monk Quartet on BBC 4 after not enjoying  
> the
> preceeding show by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
> I do not like Hard Bop and Blakey's set lacked melodic structure for  
> the
> most part.
> No wonder the rock and rollers ousted the jazzers in the '50s.
>
> Monk on the other hand is a different kettle of fish.
>
> I have always liked Monk and I think the reason is that he plays tunes
> and they are simple, economic and make sense. He clearly owes more to
> Ellington than he does to Parker.
>
> Listening to his rhythm section with Ben Riley on drums, and it is
> apparent that this is not a million miles away from what most on this
> list would call OKOM. Or am I just becoming a dirty bopper?
> Nice to see a young Humph compereing the show.
> Have a good weekend.

Hey John and other Monk lovers.

Nice to see OKOMers appreciating Monk. And why not, he owes a lot to  
James P. Johnson. Monk grew up just a block or two from JPJ and  
acknowledged his friendship and  influence more than a few times  
during his life. In fact, when Monk played "Functional"  a slow blues  
with a lot of slow stride left hand if you haven't heard it) Monk  
would often say "Sounds just like JP doesn't it" with that little  
chuckle of his. It is, for me, a wonderful adaptation of Monk's unique  
harmony and that strong, traditional left hand.

You can hear it at: (Wait for it to load in the upper right hand corner)

http://www.last.fm/music/Thelonious+Monk/_/Functional

Trombonist Roswell Rudd is  another guy who had fun with Monk tunes  
and for a few years presented a show called "Monksieland" which was a  
sort of cross genre sort of thing.

My band plays a few Monk tunes in Dixieland style. Among them are  
"Hackensack" (same chords as "Lady Be Good"), "Blue Monk" "Nutty" and  
"Let's Cool One".

Like you say John, he doesn't owe much to Parker at all. IMO, he went  
his own way based on the Trad Jazz that went before him.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband