Monks (album)

Last updated
Monks
Bergman Morris Murray Monks.jpg
Studio album by
Borah Bergman, Wilber Morris, and Sunny Murray
Released2019
RecordedApril 30, 1996
StudioNew York City
Genre Free jazz
Label Some Real Music
005/6
Producer Joe Chonto

Monks is an album by pianist Borah Bergman, bassist Wilber Morris, and drummer Sunny Murray. Featuring interpretations of music by Thelonious Monk, it was recorded on April 30, 1996, in New York City, and was issued in 2019 as a two-CD set by the Some Real Music label. Plans for the album's release were initially abandoned due to errors made by the original recording engineers, resulting in unusable DAT master tapes; however, in late 2018, producer Joe Chonto located alternate versions of the tapes, which were then used by engineer Jeff Willens to reassemble and remaster the final version. [1] [2]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]

In a review for All About Jazz , John Sharpe praised the trio's "startling reinvention" of Monk's music, and wrote: "Like a rich dessert, the session is perhaps best sampled in small portions to avoid calorific excess, but it is irresistible nonetheless." [3]

Point of Departure's Ed Hazell called the album "a disc that will loosen the floorboards in your listening room," and stated: "Bergman can articulate several ideas running around in his head at once. When his independent lines surge in two different directions you get this ungrounded sensation of falling and flying at the same time. Murray wraps the music in his enigmatic presence and Morris pokes and prods at the interstitial spaces with imperturbable joy. Their interpretations of Monk are an astonishing feat of expressive nuance, conceptual density, and emotional power." [4]

Pierre Crépon of The New York City Jazz Record described the album as a "significant addition to all three players' discographies," noting both Bergman's "crossed-hands ambidexterity" and Murray's "capacity for nuance" and "cymbal magic." He commented: "although entirely dedicated to Monk material, this session has nothing to do with formulaic exercise. 'A Free Association Peregrination in the Fecund and Funky Fields of Monkdom', the title of the sole non-Monk piece, indicates the general direction." [5]

Writing for the Downtown Music Gallery , Bruce Lee Gallanter called the album "a masterwork of free/jazz at it very best," and remarked: "Bergman's intense two handed playing seems to inspire the trio to play full on, often with two currents crashing together and around one another, Bergman's left hand interacting with the bassist while his right hand erupts with the drums. The results are most exhilarating." [6]

In an article for NPR , critic Francis Davis included the album in his list of the year's best jazz releases. [7]

Track listing

"A Free Association" composed by Borah Bergman. Remaining tracks composed by Thelonious Monk.

Disc 1
  1. "Well You Needn't (Tk 1)" – 7:04
  2. "Well You Needn't (Tk 2)" – 25:03
  3. "Thelonious" – 19:17
  4. "Light Blue" – 16:17
Disc 2
  1. "'Round Midnight" – 16:02
  2. "A Free Association Peregrination in the Fecund and Funky Fields of Monkdom" – 29:12
  3. "Criss-Cross" – 13:22
  4. "Well You Needn't (Slight Return)" – 13:42

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Monks Music</i> 1957 studio album by Thelonious Monk

Monk's Music is a jazz album by the Thelonious Monk Septet, which for this recording included Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane. It was recorded in New York City on June 26, 1957, and released in October the same year.

<i>Quartet</i> (Herbie Hancock album) 1982 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Quartet is the thirty-fourth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, featuring a quartet with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. It was originally issued in Japan on CBS/Sony, and later given a US release by Columbia.

Wilber Morris was an American jazz double bass player and bandleader. He was the brother of the cornetist, composer, and conductor Butch Morris.

<i>Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1</i> 1951 compilation album by Thelonious Monk

Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 is the name given to at least four different compilation albums by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Each version comprises some of Monk's first recordings as band leader for Blue Note, recorded in 1947. The original 10-inch LP with this title was compiled in 1951.

<i>Miles Davis Quintet at Peacock Alley</i> 2006 live album by Miles Davis

Miles Davis at Peacock Alley is an unauthorized bootleg album by jazz musician Miles Davis. It was recorded in a two-part broadcast on KXLW-AM on July 14 and July 21, 1956, from Peacock Alley in the Gaslight Square entertainment district of St. Louis. The sessions were hosted by Spider Burks, a local DJ who championed jazz, and was also one of St. Louis’ first black disc jockeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Few</span> American jazz musician (1935–2021)

Bobby Few was an American jazz pianist and vocalist.

<i>In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete</i> Four-disc collection of the 1961 live performances of the Miles Davis Quintet

In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete, also called The Complete Blackhawk, is a 2003 four-disc collection of the 1961 live performances of the Miles Davis Quintet at the Black Hawk nightclub in San Francisco. These sets, performed with recording in mind, forged new ground for jazz musician Miles Davis, who had never previously been recorded live in a club with his combo. Material from the four sets was first released simultaneously by Columbia Records on two albums in September 1961, titled In Person Friday Nights at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, Volume 1 and In Person Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, Volume 2. Although those albums were subsequently rereleased several times, the complete sets were not commercially available until Sony Records released a digital mastering of this collection. Simultaneous to this release, the material was made available as two separate double-albums, entitled Friday Night: In Person at the Blackhawk in San Francisco, Complete and Saturday Night: In Person at the Blackhawk in San Francisco, Complete. In conjunction with Sony, Mosaic Records released the 6 LP set.

Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's first sessions as a bandleader were recorded between 1947 and 1952, and released on Blue Note records as a series of 78 RPM singles. These singles were then compiled in later years—with additional performances from the sessions—into long-playing album formats. As Monk's reputation and fame grew, the sessions were recompiled again and again into more complete configurations. This article details various releases of these sessions.

<i>Live at the Jazz Workshop</i> 1982 live album by Thelonious Monk

Live at the Jazz Workshop is a live album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, that was recorded at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. The album was recorded on November 3 and 4, 1964, and released by Columbia Records in 1982.

<i>Betwixt</i> (album) Album by jazz pianist Pandelis Karayorgis

Betwixt is an album by jazz pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, which was recorded in 2006 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label. It was the third recording by mi3, a trio with bassist Nate McBride and drummer Curt Newton.

<i>Live at Dreher, Paris 1981</i> 1981 live album by Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy

Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 is a live album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in Paris in 1981 and released by the Hathut label. The four-CD box set combines recordings previously released on the LPs Snake Out in 1983, Herbe De L'oubli in 1986 and Let's Call This in 1986, with additional recordings from the concert series. The recordings were also released as two double-CD sets Live at Dreher, Paris 1981: Round Midnight Vol. 1 and Live at Dreher, Paris 1981: The Peak Vol. 2.

<i>Bemsha Swing</i> (album) 1997 live album by Woody Shaw

Bemsha Swing is a live album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded by drummer Roy Brooks in Detroit in 1986. The music was first released on the Blue Note label in 1997. Shaw and Brooks were both in pianist Horace Silver's band in the mid-1960s, and they recorded together under Brooks' leadership on the 1972 live album The Free Slave.

<i>Monks Casino</i> 2005 live album by Alexander von Schlippenbach

Monk's Casino is a live album by German free jazz pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach featuring the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk recorded in Germany in 2003-04 for the Intakt label. According to the liner notes by critic John Corbett, Monk's Casino is the first ever comprehensive recording project to include all Monk's songs.

<i>Big Top</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Whit Dickey

Big Top is the second album by American jazz drummer Whit Dickey, which was recorded in 1999 and released on Wobbly Rail, a short-lived imprint started by Merge Records/Superchunk principal Mac McCaughan. For this record, Dickey expanded to a quartet consisting of the trio with whom he recorded Transonic, with the addition of guitarist Joe Morris. They played Eric Dolphy composition "The Prophet", from the album At the Five Spot, and Thelonious Monk's "Skippy".

John Blum is an American jazz pianist and composer.

<i>Piano Solo</i> (Thelonious Monk album) 1954 studio album by Thelonious Monk

Piano Solo is a 1954 album by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, recorded in Paris, France, on June 4, 1954, originally for a radio broadcast.

<i>We See</i> 1993 live album by Steve Lacy 6

We See, subtitled Thelonious Monk Songbook, is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, which was recorded in Switzerland in 1992 and first released on the hat ART label in 1993. The album was rereleased in 2002 with an additional track from the concert.

<i>Bop!</i> 1997 studio album by Frank Morgan

Bop! is an album by saxophonist Frank Morgan released in 1997 on the Telarc label.

<i>Moments Notice</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Charlie Rouse

Moment's Notice is an album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Rouse. It was recorded on October 20, 1977, and was released on LP in 1978 by both Storyville Records and the Danish label Jazzcraft. On the album, Rouse is joined by pianist Hugh Lawson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Ben Riley. In 1997, the album was reissued on CD with four alternate takes.

<i>The October Revolution</i> (album) 1996 live album dedicated to Bill Dixon

The October Revolution is a live album that documents a concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1964 music festival known as the October Revolution in Jazz. It contains two long tracks, dedicated to composer, trumpeter, and festival organizer Bill Dixon, by a quartet that features drummer Rashied Ali, pianist Borah Bergman, saxophonist Joe McPhee, and bassist Wilber Morris, plus a single short track featuring the Myra Melford Trio, led by pianist Melford, and featuring bassist Lindsey Horner and drummer Tom Rainey. The album was recorded on October 22, 1994, at the Fez Room under the Time Cafe in New York City, and was released in 1996 by Evidence Music.

References

  1. ↑ "Borah Bergman - Monks". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  2. ↑ Turner, Jonathan (December 19, 2019). "Davenport native brings '90s jazz recording back to brilliant life". Moline Dispatch & Rock Island Argus. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Sharpe, John (February 13, 2020). "Borah Bergman - Wilber Morris - Sunny Murray: Monks". All About Jazz. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hazell, Ed (June 2020). "Moment's Notice: Reviews of Recent Recordings". Point of Departure. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ Crépon, Pierre (June 2020). "Reviews" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. p. 30.
  6. ↑ Gallanter, Bruce Lee (November 22, 2019). "DMG Newsletter". Downtown Music Gallery. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Davis, Francis (January 14, 2021). "The 2020 Jazz Critics Poll: It's After The End Of The World". NPR. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.