Thelonious Sphere Monk probably did not drink as much bourbon as William Faulkner. He probably did not shoot as much heroin as William Burroughs, or smoke as much marijuana as Norman Mailer, or get as many “vitamin shots” from feel-good Manhattan doctors as John F. Kennedy. But he had his share. He had his measure….
Tag: Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk—“Blue Monk”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVBv-TzO8lU Monk in 1964 on a Scandinavian tour. Charlie Rouse on tenor. Information on the bassist and drummer isn’t readily available, but (probably) Larry Gales on bass and Ben Riley on drums. Posted by inations. Need more Monk? Yes, you do. Go to Mostly Monk and continue your education.
Thelonious Monk—“Bemsha Swing” et al.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zUulKnCTf0 Have I linked to this before? Well, so what? I’ve decided to do a run on “Bemsha Swing”, co-written by Thelonious with drummer Denzil Best, so why not start off with The Man? Monk is joined by Charlie Rouse, tenor, John Ore, bass, and Frankie Dunlop, drums, playing “Nutty”, “Bemsha Swing”, “Epistrophy”, “Crepuscule With…
Thelonious Monk—“Nutty”, “Bemsha Swing”, “Epistrophy”, “Crepuscule With Nellie” & “I Mean You”
I was going to run the final clip from an early 60s broadcast featuring Thelonious Monk,Charlie Rouse, John Ore and Frankie Dunlop on the BBC, but it was only 4 ½ minutes, so I decided to switch to this 1961 Dutch broadcast, with a full 19 ½ minutes. Posted by crownpropeller
Thelonious Monk—“Rhythm-a-ning”
Monk on the BBC once more, with Charlie Rouse on tenor, Larry Gales on bass, and & Ben Riley on drums. Posted by OopBopShBam
Thelonious Monk & Charlie Parker—“Well, You Needn’t”
This is not a video, but it is essential, a live recording of Charlie Parker playing “Well, You Needn’t” with Monk as accompanist. This is one of the “famous” Dean Benedetti recordings. Benedetti was a passionate fan of Parker and surreptitiously recorded many of Bird’s nightclub performances. To save tape (or “wire”—the earliest taping machines…
Thelonious Monk—“Well, You Needn’t”
Okay, enough of “Straight, No Chaser” for awhile. Now I’m going to be doing “Well, You Needn’t” for a month or two. Thelonious Monk, piano. Charlie Rouse, tenor sax; Larry Gales, bass; and Ben Riley, drums. Posted by Ilana X.
Thelonious Monk—“Round Midnight”
Footage taken of Old Man Monk playing his signature tune in 1969, from a strange, messed-up documentary. Monk was not happy, not feeling well, but the fingers, and the spirit, still worked. Posted by Miguel Tuna
Who’s Cooler, Prince or—OK, Screw It
For a while I had a meme, comparing whichever pop icon was in the news to the first pop icon I encountered, Hopalong Cassidy. But memes get old, and, judging from the worshipful coverage Prince is receiving, comparing the late guy who was formerly known as Prince to a B-movie cowpoke like Hoppy, whose name…
Miles Davis—“Round Midnight”
Miles Davis Quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Recorded at Berlin, West Germany, on November 4, 1967. Posted by Miles Davis Performance Album I doubt if Thelonious would care for this rendition, since both Shorter and Hancock use his most famous composition as little more than a jumping-off point. Davis…