Monk’s Music Trio

Located in the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA Bay Area, Monk’s Music Trio can be an acoustic hard bop trio that’s devoted exclusively towards the compositions from the influential pianist Thelonious Monk (b. Oct. 10, 1917; d. Feb. 17, 1982). The idea of a repertory jazz group using a Monk-only concentrate is not unparalleled; from 1961-1964, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and trombonist Roswell Rudd co-led a fresh York City-based quartet which was called COLLEGE DAYS and played only Monk parts. And 1982 noticed the rise of Sphere, which began being a Monk tribute music group but continued to record a whole lot of non-Monk music before contacting it quits in 1988 following the loss of life of group member Charlie Rouse (a tenor saxophonist who acquired spent a long time in Monk’s utilize). But because Monk was this kind of prolific composer, the idea of a Monk-only group hasn’t exhausted its welcome. Among the things which has produced Monk’s Music Trio interesting may be the group’s determination to embrace a multitude of Monk compositions — some quite well-known, even more obscure. Rather than totally playing well-known criteria such as for example “Circular Midnight” (which manufacturer Orrin Keepnews referred to as “the nationwide anthem of jazz”), “Well, You Needn’t,” “Epistrophy,” and “In Walked Bud,” the associates of Monk’s Music Trio also have tackled their talk about of lesser-known Monk music. The group provides recorded well-known criteria like “Talk to Me Today,” “Rhythm-a-Ning,” and “Pannonica” — which have been documented many times over time — however they also have unearthed lesser-known music such as for example “Stuffy Turkey,” “Arriving on the Hudson,” “Boo Boo’s Birthday,” “Function,” and “Two Timer” (which Monk hardly ever got around to documenting when he was alive — the very first recorded version originated from the pianist’s kid, T.S. Monk, over the 1997 discharge Monk on Monk). The initial lineup of Monk’s Music Trio was produced in the past due ’90s, when experienced drummer Chuck Bernstein contacted pianist Si Perkoff about the chance of piecing together a piano trio that could play Monk music exclusively. Perkoff, who was simply considered a significant Monk professional in Bay Region jazz circles, loved the theory — and the actual fact that Perkoff’s pianism was significantly affected by Monk (in addition to Bud Powell and Horace Metallic) certainly didn’t harm. Frank Passantino was employed to try out acoustic bass; consequently, he remaining the trio and was changed by Bay Region indigenous Sam Bevan. Tranquility of Odd Amounts, the trio’s 1st recording, premiered in 2003 within the CMB label; that disk was accompanied by their sophomore recording, Think about One, which CMB released in 2004.