Thelonius Monk Genius of Modern Music Volume 1

Owen Mair

This is the first time Ive ever listened to a jazz CD in my life. I was always wary of trying because I never really enjoyed listening to jazz; I only enjoyed playing it. Im really glad I listened though. I actually enjoyed it. I took a CD under the recommendation of my jazz piano instructor. He gave me a list of fantastic CDs I should check out to get ideas in order to expand my jazz style. On this list were a few CDs by Thelonius Monk. Id heard a lot about Monk before, but Id never really heard much of his music. I decided to choose Thelonius Monk The Genius of Modern Music which contains some of his earliest work and his developing style; a great place to start for people trying to get into Monk. I really enjoyed listening. I was surprised that I did, but I actually enjoyed it so much that I listened through the CD a few times before getting around to writing this paper. Ive definitely gained some valuable ideas from listening to this CD which I can apply to my own style.All tracks on this CD are in swing. The tracks Ruby My Dear, Monks Mood, and Round Midnight are all swing ballads. All alternate take tracks are in the same style as their originals. Humph is a fast paced swing piece to open the album. Its melody is centralized in the saxophone section. The saxophone soloist briefly attempts to quote Evonce in his solo. Evonce follows and is a nice medium swing piece that also has a saxophone focused melody. The piece which follows uses a very similar (if not the same) chord progression as Evonce. This track is called Suburban Eyes and is also based in the saxophones. The next piece is another nice medium swing piece which focuses mostly on the piano (for both solos and melody). The two tracks following are alternate takes of Evonce and Suburban Eyes. Nice Work if You Can Get It is the name of the piece which follows. This piece is also centered on the piano and is a faster paced swing piece with a somewhat odd chord progression (which at point seems almost incoherent). The bass changes up the rhythm at the end in a very interesting way (it almost seems as the time signature has changed or if an extra beat was added somewhere but I cant entirely tell). Ruby My Dear is a very nice swing ballad for piano. The chord progression is fantastic. Actually melody and solo are nearly indistinguishable from each other in this piece. There isnt much of a form to it. The solos used to open and close the piece dont seem to be in any particular tempo or time signature and are left solely up to the pianist. This is followed by a nice swing piano feature called Well You Neednt also opened by a very free piano solo. The piano simply intertwines solo improv and the main melody together for the entire piece. April in Paris is another swing piano feature. The chord progression is very good in this one too. Theres not much more to it than that. Off Minor has a similar structure and chord progression to April in Paris but is a bit more minor (very fittingI know). It also is a piano feature. Introspection follows and is a medium swing piano feature. The opening piano solo seems to include some irregular time signature and rhythm. There seems to be measure that comes up several times during the piece where one beat is skipped every now and then. The pieces which follow are alternate takes of Nice Work if You Can Get It, Ruby My Dear, Well You Neednt, and April in Paris. Theres not much use in going over alternate takes because the only thing that changes is some of the improv though the overall tune remains the same. In Walked Bud finally brings back the rest of the ensemble and features a trumpet led melody (sometimes passed between or in unison with the saxophones). Its a nice faster paced swing piece. Monks Mood follows and is a ballad feature for mostly saxophone. The drums pick up the rhythm every now and then giving it a different feel (like when the piano is playing instead of saxophone) giving the feel of mood changes. The next piece, titled Who Knows?, Is very fast paced swing piece that features the entire ensemble. The melody centered in the trumpets and saxophones again. Round Midnight is the piece that comes next and its a nice full ensemble ballad (featuring most of its melody on the piano with lighter accompaniment from saxophone and trumpet). The album closes with an alternate take of Who Knows?. I really enjoyed the CD overall. It was very applicable to me because of all the piano features. There was a lot I learned from listening and being able to store up a bank of improv ideas. The quality of the CD wasnt amazing (since its old and all that), but the quality of the jazz was very good (with a very raw and relaxed feel to it). The solos sound spontaneous and fresh, and so do the tunes. Theres a great re-listen-ability value to because of the complexity of some of the tunes and solos. I caught something new every time I listened through the CD. A few problems with this CD are the lack of stylistic diversity. With some ballads and every tune being swing, it really lacks variety. Plus, the bulk of it is made up of alternate takes of the same tracks. I would definitely recommend this CD to a friend. I would probably give this to mostly jazz piano enthusiasts because there not really much work being done on any other instruments. This gives a great representation of Monks developing style. Its a rather straight forward experience too for jazz beginners. There are not any crazy rhythm changes or other odd tendencies of modern jazz. Its a very comfortable listening experience (and only tedious because of the alternate take tracks which can easily be skipped over). Definitely a great CD to listen to for those getting to know Monk or understand modern jazz piano playing. Id definitely be very curious to hear more Thelonius Monk. What little Ive heard sounds very promising. I mostly interested in hearing more of his compositions (rather than his takes on jazz standards). His compositions were my favorite from the CD. Hes got a very unique, sort of out there style that I find very interesting. Exploring more Monk is something I will be doing in the future. Overall a wonder CD listening experience.My favorite track is Well You Neednt. I really enjoy it because I feel like it has a nice hard swung groove to it, plus the main melody is rather catchy and fun. The piano solo also has some awesome improv that I just love. The piece is rather straight forward. It opens with piano introducing us to the main melody of the piece. After this, the piano get to improv for a solid 80% of the song, until the end where the melody is than restated simply and everything comes to a close (ABA). The song consists only of piano being supported by bass and drums. There are not other instruments present in this piece. There are no special effects in this piece at all since it is solely the piano playing melody. This piece is one of Monks original pieces. Monk was known for his rather odd sound when playing piano. Some people disliked his style, calling him the elephant on the piano. His playing was clunky, disjointed, and dissonant. These attributes in jazz piano were all rather new at this time and could sound rather sloppy in the bluesy, straight-forward, swing jazz that people of the time used. Monk was at the beginning of a new era though, when more modern jazz was beginning to take over. Monk was not fully appreciated until later on (after he was dead), when people realized how much his style really revolutionized jazz and set the tone for a modern era to come. Now he has contributed several standards to the jazz world of today like Round Midnight and Well You Neednt among others. The piano solo in the middle of the piece doesnt use any special techniques or anything. Its rather rhythmic and not extremely notey (some parts are slightly). It doesnt sound technically challenging to me though it is challenging in other ways. Transcribing would be a pain. The spacing of the rhythms is very strange, and some repeated piano licks would be impossible to write out cause they dont really line up with any sort of rhythm. Theres a little bit of dissonance used in this solo too. Something I dont usually think about doing much when I play. I almost cant tell when things are accidents are not, but I guess thats a good thing to happen in Jazz music. Some of the playing could be called sloppy but it has confidence behind it which makes it seem deliberate and characterized. I really enjoy the performer though knowing the context of his style (Monks style). Its got his usual sound to it and I enjoy its strangeness. The piano doesnt do much interacting with the other rhythm section instruments. For the most part, the drums keep doing their thing and the bass keeps doing its things and the piano plays whatever it wants. I really enjoy the rhythmic repetitions Monk uses to create suspense and also his use of space for that same reason. It really makes the music more interesting; keeps me guessing. Also, his use of gliss is not overdone and always fits in a place; a nice stylistic touch.I really enjoyed this project. I was glad to delve into jazz a level deeper and not just play it, but listen to it. Making observations of professional players is the best way to improve my stylistic skills and improv skills. I feel inspired from listening. I know I learned something, because after listening a few times, I sat down at the piano with my friend and started improving some jazz stuff when he told that I sounded like Monk when I was playing. Thats how I know it works; when Im able to apply it to myself. This is the perfect CD to apply to me. Im glad I made the decision to listen to what I did. Not only did I learn, but I had some fun doing it.