Search - T.S. Monk :: Monk on Monk

Thelonius renewed

Sidewinder | Boston, MA | 04/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are in to great jazz arrangements, you'll love this disc. Don Sickler (trumpeter, producer and arranger) has created modern sounding, yet true to the original arrangements of Thelonius Monk (Sr.)'s great compositions.



Not only are the arrangements great, but the lineup of players is a Who's Who of Jazz Giants. Jazz artists such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Danilo Perez, Kevin Mahogany, Wallace Roney and Clark Terry add a masterful musical touch to Thelonius's classic works.



Another cool feature is the Enhanced portion of the CD. You can check out a little footage from the actual sessions and hear some short interviews from the players by popping the disc into your computer.



I highly recommend this album as an essential part of your jazz collection."

Remarkable chemistry -- A True Find!

John L. EISENHAUER | Brinklow, MD United States | 03/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The combination of musicians on this recording intrigued me. Unlike so many eclectic groupings that don't live up to expectations, this one was so remarkable that I listened to it over and over. T.S. Monk, the great pianist's son who plays drums, has put together a special CD that brings out the richness and depth that his father's complex music deserves. Not since Sonny Fortune recorded Four in One, has such serious treatment been given to Monk's music. The orchestrations are outstanding and the recording quality is wonderful. Kevin Mahogony's treatment of Ruby My Dear is tender and powerful. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter play with great sensitivity to the music that only truly skilled musicians can accomplish. As a special addition, Bobby Watson performs a great solo on Jackie-ing.Let me tell you, this album is a sleeper -- a true gem in a sea of 'heard it before' music."

T.S. Monk explores his father's legacy.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 10/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The recent era in jazz has been signified by and large by a major split-- the so-called uptown vs. downtown jazz. The uptown guys seem concerned with maintaining tradition, but to the extent of making sure it's the appropriate tradition that's maintained. In all of this, it's quite possible that a number of records of just some great mainstream jazz could easily get overlooked by folks who prefer their music forward looking, particularly when that album is a tribute to a composer. Such is the case with "Monk on Monk"-- having embraced his heritage as a jazz musician, T.S. Monk, drummer son of legendary composer/pianist Thelonious Monk, decided it was time to tackle the legacy of his father. The results are nothing short of astonishing.



For the project, Monk and arranger Don Sickler took the style of arrangement they had been doing for Monk's sextet and put it on a much larger scale. The working sextet-- then consisting of Monk at the drum chair, Sickler blowing trumpet, Willie Williams on tenor and soprano sax, Bobby Porcelli primarily on alto sax, Ronnie Matthews on piano and newcomer to the band Gary Wang on bass-- had reached a high level of sympathetic interaction, the kind of playing that comes with five years of working together. The band was further augmented on most tracks by tenor/baritone saxophonist Roger Rosenberg, legendary baritone sax/tuba performer Howard Johnson, trombonist Eddie Bert and trumpeter Virgil Jones (among others less frequently on some cuts), and further joined by a number of guests throughout the performances-- bassists Ron Carter, Dave Holland and Chritian McBride, pianists Danilo Perez, Herbie Hancock and Geri Allen, trumpeters Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval, Clark Terry and Wallace Roney, reed players Grover Washington Jr., Jimmy Heath and Wayne Shorter, and vocalists Kevin Mahogany, Dianne Reeves and Nnenna Frelon all contribute.



The results are astonishing-- whether it be the drum-led explosiveness of "Little Rootie Tootie", the sensitive romance of "Dear Ruby" (ably crooned by Mahogany), the unnervingly brilliant arrangement of "Ugy Beauty" (where the seven note chord is split among seven horns), or the bright ecstacy of "Suddenly" ("In Walked Bud"). Start to finish, the album plays like one long highlight. Nearly everyone involved turns in a top notch performance. Somehow in looking backwards at his father's legacy, T.S. Monk has created something forward looking. The music captures all the joy and wonder of Monk's best work in a performance that is really second to none, and at the same time is both more accessible than Monk's music without sacrificing any of the brilliance that comes with the complexity of Monk's work.



Bottom line-- it would not be hyperbole to state that this is the best mainstream jazz record of the 1990s, and perhaps of the past twenty-five years. Highly recommended."