I was just thinking about this while listening to Thelonious Monk. He's obviously very talented and creative, and I've enjoyed everything I've heard (Brilliant Corners, Monk's Music, Misterioso, Monk's Dream), but I don't love any of those albums. I wish I could hear what many do in him, but I don't.
Black Flag. I like them as a good punk band, but I don't think they're as good as their hype. _________________ Do it yourself and let me play my music: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=61802
He's obviously very talented and creative, and I've enjoyed everything I've heard (Brilliant Corners, Monk's Music, Misterioso, Monk's Dream), but I don't love any of those albums. I wish I could hear what many do in him, but I don't.
You don't love them as album experiences, or you think you wouldn't even love a 40-minute playlist of Monk's best tunes? He's a little older than Coltrane, Mingus and Miles -- he was one of the architects of be-bop and modern jazz along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie -- did a lot of his best work before 1958, so quite a bit of his music was originally released as 10-inch LPs rather than 12-inchers. Because of that I don't think he's quite as well represented by the album format as some younger artists. (Though I think most of the albums folks have mentioned are pretty great.)
Monk is hands down the greatest small group composer in the history of jazz (a majority of Mingus' best work was with what I consider mid-size groups). His tunes are unique and instantly recognizable as his work. He is also, to my mind, one of the most historically important jazz soloists. To jazz musicians and fans, having your own sound is the most important thing, and Monk personified that. Long before the free jazz era, he was using dissonance, what people called "wrong notes" and eccentric phrasing to create the most individual solos until Eric Dolphy and free jazz came along. Can't imagine Dolphy or Cecil Taylor (who recorded a semi-free jazz album a year before Ornette Coleman's first album) without him, and I suspect he was a huge influence on free jazz in general. In a genre full of great technicians, he turned his technical limitations into a great asset.
You line up Monk's 15 best tunes and there isn't another small group jazz composer who can hang with him -- hell, most jazz musicians don't even have 15 really good original tunes.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
baystateoftheart
Hayden
Spyglass
CharlieBarley
