Jazz Feature for July 30: "THE THELONIOUS MONK 4 PLUS 2 AT THE BLACKHAWK"

[Gavin Walker]

The biographical details of Mr. Monk are easily available so just briefly; Thelonious Sphere Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on October 11,1917 and died in New York on February 17,1982. Monk was raised in New York and began playing the piano when he was 11 years old and as a young teenager began playing at Harlem rent parties, and accompanying his mother's singing in church. He eventually went on the road in the Southern States with an evangelist. He studied briefly at Julliard and freelanced with all kinds of bands, including Lucky Millinder's band, Coleman Hawkins' Group(where he made his first official recordings) and Dizzy Gillespie's ground-breaking big band. Meanwhile Monk was writing most of the tunes that he would play for the rest of his life. These compositions are really mini-portraits of the New York that Monk knew in his formative years. Monk made his first recordings under his own name for Blue Note in 1947 and the rest is history. Thelonious, right up to his last public appearance in 1975 never compromised his music and was true to his muse. Until the late 1950's Monk and his music was treated with benign indifference by the critics and fellow musicians.....Monk didn't care....he said 'let them figure my music out even if it takes them 20 or 30 years......it's not my problem'. By 1957 Monk and his quartet with John Coltrane at the Five Spot in New York captured the attention of the critics and musicians and Monk was on his way.
Tonight's feature is a live date from the legendary "Blackhawk" at the corner of Turk and Hyde in San Francisco. That city was a place where Monk felt at home and as usual brought his wife, Nellie who always travelled with him but also his two children; Thelonious Jr.(T.S. Monk) and Boo-Boo(Barbara). Monk brought his tenor saxophonist, Charlie Rouse, and his bass player, John Ore with him but no drummer as he was supposed to record with Shelly Manne and two West Coast hornmen that he dug; tenorist Harold Land and trumpeter Joe Gordon. Attempts were made in the studio to record but it was obvious that Monk and Shelly did not mix musically(they remained friendly on a personal level) so producer Orrin Keepnews(of Riverside Records) abandoned the project and decided to record live at the Blackhawk with drummer Billy Higgins joining Monk's band (Monk took Billy back to New York). The date went very smoothly and is one of the better Monk recordings(although one that is frequently overlooked). Rouse is superb and Land and Gordon show their musicianship and understanding of Monk's tunes and considering the short time they played with Monk get inside Thelonious' sometimes difficult changes. Higgins swings hard and drives the band showing his Kenny Clarke influence and one would never suspect that he just joined the group.

All the tunes(except one standard) are Monk's and he wrote "San Francisco Holiday"(aka "Worry Later") for this engagement. The high point is a long version of "Round Midnight" which brings out the best in all the horns and Mr.Monk as well. Check out"The Thelonious Monk Quartet Plus Two at the Blackhawk" tonight.....you'll be glad you did.