One thing I definitely lack is perfect pitch, but Bud’s piano sounds seriously out of tune in this clip, which I am nonetheless including for its historical significance. This is “obviously” a French film director’s “homage” to both Bud and Thelonious—the whole mise-en-scène reeks of France in the fifties (which is not a bad reek at all)—but its posting on YouTube gives us exactly zero information as to who, when, or where. Well, there’s nothing wrong with a “mysterious” treasure. Posted by fabriciophoenix
Powell was actually Monk’s pupil, but outdid the master—in popularity in the jazz scene, at least—by realizing that the route to critical recognition in the late forties New York jazz world was to become the Charlie Parker of whatever instrument you played. Monk refused to emulate anyone except himself—insisting on being the Thelonious Monk of the piano rather than the Charlie Parker—and generally went out of his way to sabotage his career, despite the fact that he also dreamed of popular success. If you want more of my riffing on Monk’s mysterious ways, go here.
