View previous topic :: View next topic
baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 31

Location: Massachusetts
United States
  • #1
  • Posted: 04/13/2020 00:27
  • Post subject: Artists You Wish You Liked More
  • Quote
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.

Which artists do you wish you liked more?
_________________
Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Hayden

Location: Vietnam
Canada
  • #2
  • Posted: 04/13/2020 00:27
  • Post subject:
  • Quote

Underground by Thelonious Monk

Listen to this.
_________________
Doubles & Conch
Spyglass
Resident Metalhead
Gender: Male

Location: The red dot on the map
United States
  • #3
  • Posted: 04/13/2020 00:32
  • Post subject:
  • Quote
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
CharlieBarley
Gender: Male

Age: 50

Location: Down To Earth
United Kingdom
  • #4
  • Posted: 04/13/2020 01:49
  • Post subject:
  • Quote
Joanna Newsom

I get that she's talented but I can't get past her voice though some of her music is nice.
PurpleHazel

United States
  • #5
  • Posted: 04/13/2020 04:28
  • Post subject: Re: Artists You Wish You Liked More
  • Quote
baystateoftheart wrote:
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.

Good topic.
Display posts from previous:   
  
Topic Posters
All times are GMT

Page 1 of 1


 

Jump to:  
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


Similar Topics
Topic Author Forum
Sticky: How Did You Get Here? Jackwc New Members
Sticky: What album are you listening to? (cont.) albummaster Music
Artists/Songs You liked as a kid but ... hereforashortime Music
Well-liked artists you just can't get... MelverneArkady Music
[ Poll ] Least favorite well-liked albums Cojo7 Music

 
Back to Top