This is a list of compositions by jazz musician
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...
.
0-9
52nd Street Theme
A
contrafact
A contrafact is a musical work based on a prior work. The term comes from classical music and has only since the 1940s been applied to jazz, where it is still not standard. In classical music, contrafacts have been used as early as the parody mas ...
based loosely on
rhythm changes
Rhythm changes are a common 32-bar chord progression in jazz, originating as the chord progression for George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The progression is in AABA form, with each A section based on repetitions of the ubiquitous I–vi–ii–V s ...
in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" by Monk, and he claims that the tune's latter title was the origin of the genre-defining name
bebop
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
. It quickly became popular as an opening and closing tune on the clubs on
52nd Street
52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jazz center
Following the repeal of ...
on
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
where
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
and
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
played. It was first recorded by
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
's sextet on February 22, 1946, under the title "52nd Street Theme".
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.
Biography
Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...
claims he gave the latter title.
A
Ask Me Now
A tonally ambiguous ballad in D
first recorded on July 23, 1951, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It also appears on ''
5 by Monk by 5
''5 by Monk by 5'' is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Recording and music
The album was recorded over three sessions in June 1959. In additio ...
'', and ''
Solo Monk
''Solo Monk'' (1965) is the fifth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia Records, and his eighth overall for that label. The album is composed entirely of solo piano work by Monk. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is per ...
''.
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
wrote lyrics to the tune and called it ”How I Wish”; it was first recorded by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
on ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
Mark Murphy sings a version (the lyric is credited to
Ben Sidran
Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer and ...
) on his album ''Kerouac, Then and Now''.
B
Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
A riff-based blues in B first recorded on October 9, 1956, for ''
Brilliant Corners
''Brilliant Corners'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes ...
''. The title references
Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (''née'' Rothschild; 10 December 1913 – 30 November 1988) was a British-born jazz patron and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Personal life
Kath ...
's troubles with her stay at the Bolivar Hotel, where her parties would disturb the management of the hotel. It also appears on ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960'', and on ''
Monk's Dream''; on the latter release, it was retitled "Bolivar Blues" or "Blue Bolivar Blues". Live versions also appear from the albums recorded in 1964 at the
It Club and the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
Bemsha Swing
A tune Monk wrote with
Denzil Best
Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Biography
Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...
and was first recorded on December 18, 1952, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
''. The tune is also known as "Bimsha Swing", because the word ''Bemsha'' is a re-spelling of "Bimshire" – a colloquial nickname for
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, where Denzil Best's parents were born. It is a 16-bar tune with an AABA-form. The 4-bar A-section is essentially in C major but borrows tones from the parallel C minor scale, and is transposed up a fourth to create the B section of the form. The tune also appears on ''
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
''Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants'' (PRLP 7150) is an album by Miles Davis, released on Prestige Records in 1959. Most of the material comes from a session on December 24, 1954, featuring Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson, and had been prev ...
'' and ''
Brilliant Corners
''Brilliant Corners'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes ...
'', featuring
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
with a
timpani drum added to his set. This inspired Monk's son
"Toot" Monk to play the drums. Live versions appear on the albums recorded in ''
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
'', ''
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
'', ''
It Club'', ''
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
'', and the album ''
Misterioso (Recorded on Tour)
''Misterioso (Recorded on Tour)'' is a live album by Thelonious Monk, released for Columbia Records. It was recorded at various locations on tour.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Thelonious Monk; except where indicated Side A
#"Well, You Ne ...
''.
Bluehawk
A blues in B first recorded on October 21, 1959, for ''
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
''Thelonious Alone in San Francisco'' is jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's third solo album, recorded in 1959. (''Piano Solo'', aka ''Solo 1954'', recorded in Paris, and ''Thelonious Himself'' (1957), were Monk's previous forays into this form.)
It ...
''. Monk wrote the tune after a visit from
Guy Warren
Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The T ...
in 1958, the melody is borrowed from Warren's "The Talking Drum Looks Ahead" from the album ''Themes for African Drums''. The title is a tribute to Monk's friend
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
, and the
Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...
club in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Blue Monk
A blues in B written in the studio and first recorded on September 22, 1954, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
'', and is by far the tune Monk recorded the most. The melody is partly borrowed from Charlie Shavers' "Pastel Blue". Versions of the tune appear on ''
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
''Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk'' is a studio album released in 1958 by Atlantic Records. It is a collaboration between the Jazz Messengers, the group led by drummer Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk on piano.
Background
Thr ...
'', and ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''. The tune appears on almost every single live album by Monk, including the albums from
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
,
Five Spot
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
,
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Newport (1958, 1959, 1963),
It Club, and at the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...
wrote lyrics to the tune around 1961, and it was recorded by
Jeanne Lee
Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunter ...
and
Ran Blake
Ran Blake (born April 20, 1935) is an American pianist, composer, and educator. He is known for his unique style that combines blues, gospel, classical, and film noir influences into an innovative and dark jazz sound. His career spans over 40 rec ...
on their album ''
The Newest Sound Around
''The Newest Sound Around'' is an album by singer Jeanne Lee and pianist Ran Blake. It was recorded in November and December, 1961, at RCA Victor Studio in New York City, and was released by RCA Victor in 1962. The album, which was the debut record ...
'', and by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
as "Monkery's the Blues" on the album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
Blue Sphere
Probably one of the last official known compositions by Monk recorded on November 15, 1971, for ''The London Collection: Volume One'', released by the Black Lion label. This is the only recording of this composition. The melody is based on blues riffs that are loosely crafted, and was largely improvised. Monk demonstrated his artistry in stride piano in this recording.
Blues Five Spot
A blues in B dedicated to the
Five Spot Café
The Five Spot Café was a jazz club located at 5 Cooper Square (1956–1962) in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City, between the Greenwich Village, East and West Village. In 1962, it moved to 2 St. Marks Place until closing in 1967. Its fri ...
, and appears on ''
Misterioso'', ''
Monk's Dream'', and ''
Live at the It Club
''Live at the It Club'' is a Thelonious Monk album released posthumously by Columbia Records. Recorded October 31 and November 1, 1964, at the "It" Club in Los Angeles, California, the album features Monk's quartet—with Charlie Rouse on tenor ...
''. It is also known as "Five Spot Blues".
Boo Boo's Birthday
A 21-bar tune in AAB-form. It was only recorded once, on December 21, 1967, for the album ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
''. "Boo Boo" was the nickname of Monk's daughter, Barbara Evelyn Monk (September 3, 1953–January 10, 1984).
Brake's Sake
A tune that was recorded only twice, and the form is different on both versions. It was first recorded by
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.
While his performing career was relatively short, ...
with Monk as a sideman on October 15, 1955, for Gryce's album ''
Nica's Tempo
''Nica's Tempo'' is the most common latter-day title of an album by the Gigi Gryce Orchestra and Quartet, recorded and first released in late 1955. The title track is a reference to Nica de Koenigswarter (born Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild) ...
'', and the second version was recorded on February 10, 1964, for the album ''
It's Monk's Time
''It's Monk's Time'' (1964) is the third studio album Thelonious Monk released on Columbia Records, and his sixth overall for that label.Allmusic entry for ''It's Monk's Time''
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
It featured three original compositions as well as three jazz sta ...
''. Both versions have the AABA form, where the last A-section has an extended coda. The version from 1955 has 10 bars in the last A-section, while the version from 1964 has 12 bars, accordingly.
Bright Mississippi
A
contrafact
A contrafact is a musical work based on a prior work. The term comes from classical music and has only since the 1940s been applied to jazz, where it is still not standard. In classical music, contrafacts have been used as early as the parody mas ...
of "
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey.
History
Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricist ...
" that Monk developed during the European tour in 1961, where the melody consists of staccato notes that outline the harmony. It was first recorded on November 1, 1962, for ''
Monk's Dream''. Live versions also appear from the albums recorded at the
It Club and the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
Brilliant Corners
A notoriously difficult 22-bar tune in ABA-form (8-7-7 bars respectively), where the head is first played slowly and then in double-time. The choruses in the solos also follow this form.
The tune was first recorded on October 15, 1956, for the album ''
Brilliant Corners
''Brilliant Corners'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes ...
'', and the song had notoriously 25 incomplete takes of the tune, and the final version was completed by producer
Orrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels.
Biography Early life
Keepnews w ...
by cutting together the incomplete takes. The tune was later recorded in a simplified version November 20, 1968, for ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
'' with
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
's orchestra.
Bye-Ya
A 32-bar Latin-tune in AABA-form that was originally titled "Playhouse" (as a dedication to
Minton's, where Monk was the house pianist in the early 1940s with
Kenny Clarke
Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...
). It was originally supposed to be arranged by
Gil Fuller
Walter Gilbert "Gil" Fuller (April 14, 1920, Los Angeles, California – May 26, 1994, San Diego, California) was an American jazz arranger. He is no relation to the jazz trumpeter and vocalist Walter Fuller (musician), Walter "Rosetta" Fuller.
I ...
, when Monk was the pianist in
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
's big band, but wasn't recorded until October 15, 1952, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
'' under the name "Bye-Ya". Producer
Bob Weinstock
Bob Weinstock (October 2, 1928 – January 14, 2006) was an American record producer best known for his label Prestige Records, established in 1949, which was responsible for many significant jazz recordings during his more than two decades op ...
wanted to call the tune "Go", but because of the Latin influence, Weinstock asked for a Spanish translation, thus "Go" became "Vaya", and "Vaya" became "Bye-Ya". The tune was later recorded for ''
Monk's Dream'', and live versions appear on the albums recorded at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
,
Five Spot
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
, and
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
.
C
Children’s Song
A 16-bar (AA-form) composition in E, derived from the traditional children's counting song "
This Old Man
"This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting exercise and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550.
Origins and history
The origins of this song are obscure. The earliest extant record is a version noted ...
". It was only recorded once, on October 7, 1964, for the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''.
The original stereo LP referred to the song as “That Old Man” on both the jacket and the label, but the mono LP listed the song as “That Old Man” on the jacket and “Children’s Song” on the label, as have later reissues of the stereo LP. A 1984 European LP listed it as simply "Children’s Song", but it has generally been known as “Children’s Song (That Old Man)” since the 2002 CD issue.
Chordially
An improvised, abstract, and conceptual composition by Monk, recorded on November 15, 1971, and released as a bonus track in Black Lion's ''The London Collection: Volume Three''.
Coming on the Hudson
A 19-bar tune in AAB-form that Monk wrote in 1958 during his stay at
Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (''née'' Rothschild; 10 December 1913 – 30 November 1988) was a British-born jazz patron and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Personal life
Kath ...
's house at
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...
, where the house had a good view of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. It was first recorded on February 25, 1958, with
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...
,
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...
and
Pepper Adams
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...
with Monk's rhythm section. This performance currently appears on Monk's ''
Complete Riverside Recordings'', though it first appeared on the 1984 rarities compilation ''Blues Five Spot''. A live version appears on the 1958 album ''
Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe'', and it was later recorded in studio for the album ''
Criss-Cross''.
Crepuscule with Nellie
A through-composed tune that is played without solos. Monk composed the tune throughout May 1957. The tune was originally titled "Twilight with Nellie", but
Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (''née'' Rothschild; 10 December 1913 – 30 November 1988) was a British-born jazz patron and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Personal life
Kath ...
suggested instead to use the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
word for twilight, which is ''crepuscule''. The tune was first recorded with Monk's septet for ''
Monk's Music
''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.
Recording and music
Th ...
''; on that album (and on many of its reissues), "Crepuscule" was spelled "Crepescule" (3 ''es, 1 ''u''). The tune also appears on ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960'', ''
Criss-Cross''., and on the live albums from
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
,
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Criss-Cross
"Criss-Cross" (originally titled "Sailor Cap") was one Monk's very first compositions, he wrote early in 1944 as response to a collaborative project between Monk,
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
, and
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
. It was first recorded on July 23, 1951, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions, and was later featured on the 1964
album of the same name. On the first version, the tune is in a standard 32-bar AABA-form, but in the last version, the two last bars of the B-section are dropped.
The tune inspired
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...
to compose variations on ''Criss-Cross'', which premiered on May 17, 1960, and was later released on ''
Jazz Abstractions
''Jazz Abstractions'' (subtitled ''John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall'') is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label. '', featuring
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
and
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...
as soloists.
E
Epistrophy
"Epistrophy" (initially called "Fly Rite" or "
Iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called "feet". "Iambi ...
") was co-written with
Kenny Clarke
Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...
, and was copyrighted on June 2, 1941, and was the first tune copyrighted by Monk. It is a relatively atonal 32-bar tune in ABCB-form, though the key center is C.
The main melodic theme was composed by Clarke, after experimenting with fingerings on the ukulele, and the chords were written by Monk. The title "Epistrophy" is not a word in any dictionary. However, the word "
epistrophe
Epistrophe ( el, ἐπιστροφή, "return") is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences. It is also known as epiphora and occasionally as antistrophe. It is a figure of speech and the coun ...
" is defined by
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...
as "the repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect".
The tune appears on almost every single live album by Monk, as it was the closing tune of each set from Monk's days at
Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...
onwards. The first recording was by
Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.
Biography
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...
on April 1, 1942, and it was later recorded by Clarke's band on September 5, 1946. It was not recorded by Monk before July 2, 1948, for the ''
Wizard of the Vibes
''Wizard of the Vibes'' is a Blue Note Records compilation of performances by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The sessions were the work of The Thelonious Monk Quintet (the July 2, 1948 and July 23, 1951 sessions) and The Modern Jazz Quartet pl ...
'' sessions, featuring
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
. It was later recorded for ''
Monk's Music
''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.
Recording and music
Th ...
'' and was an outtake from the ''
It's Monk's Time
''It's Monk's Time'' (1964) is the third studio album Thelonious Monk released on Columbia Records, and his sixth overall for that label.Allmusic entry for ''It's Monk's Time''
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
It featured three original compositions as well as three jazz sta ...
'' sessions.
Eronel
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form originally composed by
Sadik Hakim
Sadik Hakim (born Forrest Argonne Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Forrest Argonne Thornton was born on July 15, 1919 in Duluth, Minnesota. The name Argonne came from the World War ...
, co-written with
Idrees Sulieman
Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.
Biography
He was born Leonard Graham in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting to Isl ...
. It was recorded on July 23, 1951, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. However, Monk repeatedly changed notes and the chords to the tune and added the B-section, eventually making it "his" tune. Hakim originally wrote the tune in dedication to an old flame of Hakim, Lenore Gordon (''Eronel'' is ''Lenore'' backwards). When the recording was released, it was only credited to Monk – Hakim and Sulieman did not receive the composer's credit until Monk's death. It later appeared on ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'', and on ''
Criss-Cross''.
Evidence
A contrafact of "
Just You, Just Me
"Just You, Just Me" is a song from the 1929 musical film ''Marianne'', composed by Jesse Greer with lyrics by Raymond Klages. It was introduced by Marion Davies and Lawrence Gray. The song has had many revisions after its first appearance and has b ...
". The title is a corruption from "Just You, Just Me" to "Just Us" to "Justice" to the final title "Evidence".
The tune was first recorded on July 2, 1948, for the ''
Wizard of the Vibes
''Wizard of the Vibes'' is a Blue Note Records compilation of performances by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The sessions were the work of The Thelonious Monk Quintet (the July 2, 1948 and July 23, 1951 sessions) and The Modern Jazz Quartet pl ...
'' sessions, featuring
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
, later on ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'', and on ''
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
''Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk'' is a studio album released in 1958 by Atlantic Records. It is a collaboration between the Jazz Messengers, the group led by drummer Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk on piano.
Background
Thr ...
''. The melody and chord progression of the tune continued to evolve, finally gelling into a "definitive" form in later 1957, as heard on
at Carnegie Hall and ''
Thelonious in Action
''Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe'' is a 1958 album by jazz musician Thelonious Monk with Johnny Griffin. The album was recorded live at the Five Spot Café on August 7, 1958, at the same sessions that produced '' Misterioso ...
''. Live versions appear on the albums recorded at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
,
Five Spot
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
,
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
,
It Club and the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
F
Four in One
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form notorious for its many 16th notes. A contrafact of "Five Foot Two", It was first recorded on July 23, 1951, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It later appeared on the live albums recorded at the
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
and at the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
.
Friday the 13th
A 4-bar tune built on an embellished
Andalusian cadence
The Andalusian cadence (diatonic phrygian tetrachord) is a term adopted from flamenco music for a chord progression comprising four chords descending stepwise – a iv–III–II–I progression with respect to the Phrygian mode or i–VII–VI ...
in G. The tune was written and recorded in the studio on November 13, 1953. The tune was partly inspired by trumpeter
Ray Copeland
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
having the flu on the recording date, and horn player
Julius Watkins
Julius Watkins (October 10, 1921 – April 4, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the ''Down Beat'' critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Mi ...
stepped in instead. The tune was later released on the album ''
Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins
''Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins'' is a compilation album by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Sonny Rollins released in 1956 by Prestige Records. The tracks on it were recorded in three sessions between 1953 and 1954. ...
''. The tune later appeared on the live album ''
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
''.
Functional
A 12-bar blues recorded solo on April 16, 1957, for the album ''
Thelonious Himself
''Thelonious Himself'' is a studio album by Thelonious Monk released in 1957 by Riverside Records,. It was Monk's fourth album for the label. The album features Monk playing solo piano, except for the final track, "Monk's Mood", which features Joh ...
''. The second take was released on ''Thelonious Himself'', while the first take was later used in compiling the album ''
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
''Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane'' is a 1961 album by Thelonious Monk issued on Jazzland Records, a subsidiary of Riverside Records. It consists of material recorded four years earlier when Monk worked extensively with John Coltrane, issued a ...
''.
G
Gallop's Gallop
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form with a notoriously difficult melody. It was first recorded by
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.
While his performing career was relatively short, ...
with Monk as a sideman on October 15, 1955, for Gryce's album ''
Nica's Tempo
''Nica's Tempo'' is the most common latter-day title of an album by the Gigi Gryce Orchestra and Quartet, recorded and first released in late 1955. The title track is a reference to Nica de Koenigswarter (born Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild) ...
'', and later appears on the live album ''
Live at the It Club
''Live at the It Club'' is a Thelonious Monk album released posthumously by Columbia Records. Recorded October 31 and November 1, 1964, at the "It" Club in Los Angeles, California, the album features Monk's quartet—with Charlie Rouse on tenor ...
''.
Green Chimneys
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that Monk wrote between December 1965–January 1966 in dedication to his children who went to school at that point. It was first recorded on November 14, 1966, for the album ''
Straight, No Chaser'', and later appears on the album ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
''.
H
Hackensack
A contrafact of ”
Oh, Lady Be Good!” that was first "stolen" by
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
and was first recorded on December 15, 1944, by her band.
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
later claimed ownership of the tune and recorded it under the name "Rifftide" and recorded it February 23, 1945. It was not recorded by Monk until May 11, 1954, and appears on the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''. It quickly became a staple of Monk's repertoire, and appears on the albums ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'', and on ''
Criss-Cross''. It appears on the live albums recorded at
Newport with
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
and
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...
(1955),
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, and at the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
Hornin' In
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form in D that was only recorded once, on May 30, 1952, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions.
Humph
A contrafact of ”
I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such ...
” that was the very first tune Monk recorded as a leader. During the head, the first four bars of the A-section are replaced with cycling dominants, that start on F
7, before landing on the tonic B in bar 5. The cycling dominants became a cliché that Monk would always play on other
Rhythm changes
Rhythm changes are a common 32-bar chord progression in jazz, originating as the chord progression for George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The progression is in AABA form, with each A section based on repetitions of the ubiquitous I–vi–ii–V s ...
tunes. The tune was only recorded once, on October 15, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions.
I
I Mean You
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that Monk co-wrote with
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
, and Hawkins was the first to record the tune in December 1946. The first recording by Monk was recorded on July 2, 1948, for the ''
Wizard of the Vibes
''Wizard of the Vibes'' is a Blue Note Records compilation of performances by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The sessions were the work of The Thelonious Monk Quintet (the July 2, 1948 and July 23, 1951 sessions) and The Modern Jazz Quartet pl ...
'' sessions, featuring
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
. The tune later appears on ''
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
''Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk'' is a studio album released in 1958 by Atlantic Records. It is a collaboration between the Jazz Messengers, the group led by drummer Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk on piano.
Background
Thr ...
'', ''
Mulligan Meets Monk
''Mulligan Meets Monk'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, originally released on Riverside Records in 1957. It has been reissued numerous times. It was remastered for CD in 1987 (o ...
'', and on ''
5 by Monk by 5
''5 by Monk by 5'' is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Recording and music
The album was recorded over three sessions in June 1959. In additio ...
''. Live versions of the tune appear on the albums recorded on Five Spot, Live versions of the tune appear on the albums recorded in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and at the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
. Both
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...
and
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
have written lyrics to tune. Khan's lyrics first appears on the album ''
Echoes of an Era
''Echoes of an Era'' is an album by American R&B/jazz singer Chaka Khan, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, released in 1982 on Elektra Records.
On ''Echoes of an Era'', the group interprets jazz standar ...
''. Hendricks re-titled the tune ”You Know Who”, and was first recorded by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
for the album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
In Walked Bud
"In Walked Bud" was based loosely on the
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
of "
Blue Skies", an early
pop standard
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
composed in 1927 by
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russi ...
. Monk composed "In Walked Bud" as a tribute to friend and fellow jazz pianist
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
, and many biographies of Powell have since cited it as Monk's gratitude for Powell's actions in his defense during a police raid of the
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harle ...
in 1945. The tune was first recorded by Monk on November 21, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions.
It was later also recorded for the album ''
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
''Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk'' is a studio album released in 1958 by Atlantic Records. It is a collaboration between the Jazz Messengers, the group led by drummer Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk on piano.
Background
Thr ...
''. Live versions of the tune appear on the live albums ''Discovery!'', ''
Misterioso'' and on ''
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
''. The last recording by Monk was for his 1968 record ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
'', featuring lyrics and vocals by
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
[ "In Walked Bud"] at '']AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
''. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
Introspection
A 36-bar tune in AABA-form (8-8-8-12). It that was first recorded on October 24, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It was also later recorded for the album ''
Solo Monk
''Solo Monk'' (1965) is the fifth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia Records, and his eighth overall for that label. The album is composed entirely of solo piano work by Monk. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is per ...
''.
The tune is notable for its radical chord progressions and form, as it is borderline atonal. In most jazz standards, the A-section is used to establish the key, while the B-section has tonal excursions, but in "Introspection", the roles of the sections are reversed. The A-section doesn't land on a stable chord until bar 6 where it lands on D
Δ7, but the B-section establishes D
Δ7 as a new key center. The last extended A-section finally lands on D
Δ7 in the 4-bar coda.
J
Jackie-ing
A through-composed 16-bar tune in the B
lydian mode
The modern Lydian mode is a seven-tone musical scale formed from a rising pattern of pitches comprising three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones, and a final semitone.
:
Because of the importance of the major scale in modern music ...
, that Monk named after his niece, Jackie Smith. It was first recorded on June 4, 1959, for the album ''
5 by Monk by 5
''5 by Monk by 5'' is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Recording and music
The album was recorded over three sessions in June 1959. In additio ...
''. The tune's march-like feeling made it the opening theme for many of Monk's concerts. It also appears on the live albums from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
.
L
Let's Call This
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that's very similar to the changes to "
Honeysuckle Rose". It was first recorded on November 13, 1953, and appears on the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''. It later appears on the live album recorded at the
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
.
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky a ...
also wrote lyrics for the tune.
Let's Cool One
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that was first recorded on May 30, 1952, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It was later recorded with
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...
for the album ''
In Orbit'', and appears on ''
Misterioso'', and ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''.
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky a ...
also wrote lyrics for the tune.
Light Blue
An 8-bar tune that was composed in 1957, and first appears on the live album ''
Thelonious in Action
''Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe'' is a 1958 album by jazz musician Thelonious Monk with Johnny Griffin. The album was recorded live at the Five Spot Café on August 7, 1958, at the same sessions that produced '' Misterioso ...
''. It later appears on the albums ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960'' and on ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert
''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is the fifth album Thelonious Monk released for Columbia Records, featuring several Monk compositions. It was recorded live at Lincoln Center, Philharmonic Hall, New York, New York on December 30, 1963.
It wa ...
''.
Little Rootie Tootie
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form in A, that was written around 1943–1944, and was originally called "The Pump". It was later retitled "Little Rootie Tootie" in dedication to Monk's son,
"Toot" Monk, and first recorded on October 15, 1952, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
''. It was later recorded with Monk's big band for the album
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
, where Monk's solo from the first played as a
shout chorus
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...
by the horns in the big band. It later appears on ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''.
Locomotive
A 20-bar tune in ABA-form (8-8-4) that was first recorded on May 11, 1954, and appears on the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''. It later appears on the album ''
Straight, No Chaser''.
M
A Merrier Christmas
A Christmas tune that Monk composed in the holiday of 1959 with lyrics, that was never recorded. It was supposed to be recorded for the ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
'' sessions, but was never ultimately recorded due to Monk's failing health. It was first released as a piano version by
Benny Green and a vocal version by
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer.
Biography
Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...
in Blue Note's Christmas album "Yule Struttin': A Blue Note Christmas" in 1990.
Misterioso
"Misterioso" was the very first 12-bar blues that Monk wrote, and it was first recorded on July 2, 1948, for the ''
Wizard of the Vibes
''Wizard of the Vibes'' is a Blue Note Records compilation of performances by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The sessions were the work of The Thelonious Monk Quintet (the July 2, 1948 and July 23, 1951 sessions) and The Modern Jazz Quartet pl ...
'' sessions, featuring
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
. The tune later appears on ''
Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2
''Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2'' is a jazz album by Sonny Rollins. It was released in 1957 on Blue Note Records, catalogue BLP 1558. It is noted for the appearance of pianists Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, both playing on the Monk composition "M ...
'', ''
Misterioso'', ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert
''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is the fifth album Thelonious Monk released for Columbia Records, featuring several Monk compositions. It was recorded live at Lincoln Center, Philharmonic Hall, New York, New York on December 30, 1963.
It wa ...
'', ''
Live at the It Club
''Live at the It Club'' is a Thelonious Monk album released posthumously by Columbia Records. Recorded October 31 and November 1, 1964, at the "It" Club in Los Angeles, California, the album features Monk's quartet—with Charlie Rouse on tenor ...
'' and ''
Live at the Jazz Workshop
''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.
Release history
T ...
''.
Monk's Dream
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form, and was first recorded October 15, 1952, and written around the same time. It first appeared on the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
''. It later appears on the album ''
Monk's Dream''.
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
later wrote lyrics to the tune, and retitled it "Man, That Was a Dream", and was first recorded by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
for the album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
Monk's Mood
A ballad in AABA-form that was written around 1943–1944, and went through many working titles, including "Feeling That Way Now", and "Be Merrier Sarah", until Monk settled for the title "Monk's Mood". It was first recorded on October 24, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. The tune later appears on ''
Thelonious Himself
''Thelonious Himself'' is a studio album by Thelonious Monk released in 1957 by Riverside Records,. It was Monk's fourth album for the label. The album features Monk playing solo piano, except for the final track, "Monk's Mood", which features Joh ...
'', featuring
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
and
Wilbur Ware
Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for t ...
. It later appears on the live albums from
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
.
Monk's Point
A 12-bar blues in B, described as Monk's "homage to the bent note", it first appeared on ''
Solo Monk
''Solo Monk'' (1965) is the fifth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia Records, and his eighth overall for that label. The album is composed entirely of solo piano work by Monk. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is per ...
'', then a second (and final) time on ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
'' with the Oliver Nelson Orchestra.
N
North of the Sunset
A 12-bar blues in B built on a short riff similar to one later used in "Raise Four". It was only recorded once, in the afternoon session on October 31, 1964, for the album ''
Solo Monk
''Solo Monk'' (1965) is the fifth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia Records, and his eighth overall for that label. The album is composed entirely of solo piano work by Monk. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is per ...
''. The recording session was in Los Angeles during a West Coast tour by the quartet, suggesting that the title probably to Sunset Boulevard.
Nutty
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form in B that written in the studio and first recorded on September 22, 1954, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
''. The tune is structured like
"Bemsha Swing" and "
Good Bait
"Good Bait" is a jazz composition written by American jazz piano player and composer Tadd Dameron and by band leader Count Basie. It was introduced in 1944 and was popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
Form
Good Bait uses the changes to "I've Got Rhyth ...
", in that in their respective B-sections, that A-part is transposed to the subdominant to create B-section. The tune was recorded again July 1957 for the album ''
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
''Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane'' is a 1961 album by Thelonious Monk issued on Jazzland Records, a subsidiary of Riverside Records. It consists of material recorded four years earlier when Monk worked extensively with John Coltrane, issued a ...
''. Live versions of the tune appear on the albums from
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and the
Five Spot
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
.
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky a ...
also wrote lyrics for the tune.
O
Off Minor
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that is notoriously difficult to play. The tune was first titled "What Now", and part of the A-section was borrowed from
Elmo Hope
St. Elmo Sylvester Hope (June 27, 1923 – May 19, 1967) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the bebop and hard bop genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with Bud Powell, and both were ...
. It was first recorded on January 10, 1947, by
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
and appears on the album ''
Bud Powell Trio
''Bud Powell Trio'' is a studio album by Jazz piano, jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Roost Records, Roost in 1957, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded in 1947 and 1953. The 1947 session was Powell's first studio recording as leader, ...
''. Monk later recorded the tune the same year on October 24, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. The tune later appears on the albums ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'', ''
Monk's Music
''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.
Recording and music
Th ...
'', ''
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
'', and on ''
Monk in France
''Monk in France'' is an album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, originally recorded on April 18, 1961. The remastered album includes two bonus tracks, "Body and Soul" and "Crepuscule with Nellie." Allmusic entry for ''Monk in France''/ref>
Trac ...
''.
Oska T.
An 8-bar tune in A that only appears on the album ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert
''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is the fifth album Thelonious Monk released for Columbia Records, featuring several Monk compositions. It was recorded live at Lincoln Center, Philharmonic Hall, New York, New York on December 30, 1963.
It wa ...
''. Two unrelated explanations have been reported regarding the origin of the title. The plausible explanation is that the title is a reference to the radio personality and jazz broadcaster
Oscar Treadwell
Oscar Treadwell (born Arthur Pedersen) (May 11, 1926 - April 1, 2006) was an American jazz radio journalist and presenter. Known as "OT", he became known mainly by a dedication to him by Charlie Parker, a composition called "An Oscar for Treadwe ...
(after whom
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
named a different jazz composition, "An Oscar for Treadwell"). The other explanation is that title is a corruption of the
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
pronunciation of "ask for tea".
Ethan Iverson
Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.
Biography
Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...
speculates that this tune was Monk's response to the
modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that makes use of musical modes, often modulating among them to accompany the chords instead of relying on one tonal center used across the piece. Although precedents exist, modal jazz was crystallized as a theory by compose ...
movement, as the tune mostly lies on one chord.
P
Pannonica
A 33-bar tune in AABA-form (8-8-8-9) that is one of Monk's most popular ballads. The tune was written around the summer of 1956, and was dedicated to
Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (''née'' Rothschild; 10 December 1913 – 30 November 1988) was a British-born jazz patron and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Personal life
Kath ...
. The tune was first recorded on October 9, 1956, for ''
Brilliant Corners
''Brilliant Corners'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes ...
''. It later appears on Monk's albums ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960'', ''
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
''Thelonious Alone in San Francisco'' is jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's third solo album, recorded in 1959. (''Piano Solo'', aka ''Solo 1954'', recorded in Paris, and ''Thelonious Himself'' (1957), were Monk's previous forays into this form.)
It ...
'', ''
Criss-Cross'', ''
Monk in Tokyo
''Monk in Tokyo'' is a live album recorded in 1963 and first released in Japan by Columbia Records as two separate LPs in 1963 (PSS 46 "In Tokyo 1" and PSS 47 "In Tokyo 2"), then in edited form as a single LP in 1969 by CBS/Sony Records and reis ...
'', and ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''.
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
wrote lyrics to tune and called it ”Little Butterfly”, and was first recorded by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
on ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
Played Twice
A 16-bar tune in AABA-form that was first recorded on June 1, 1959, for the album ''
5 by Monk by 5
''5 by Monk by 5'' is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Recording and music
The album was recorded over three sessions in June 1959. In additio ...
''. The B-section rhythmically displaces the concluding phrase from the preceding A-section. It later appears on the album ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert
''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is the fifth album Thelonious Monk released for Columbia Records, featuring several Monk compositions. It was recorded live at Lincoln Center, Philharmonic Hall, New York, New York on December 30, 1963.
It wa ...
''.
R
Raise Four
A 12-bar blues in B featuring a one-bar riff built on the interval of a raised fourth (or augmented fourth), also known as a flatted fifth or tritone. It was only recorded once, on February 14, 1968, for the album ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
''.
Reflections aka (portrait of an ermite)
A popular ballad in AABA-form that was first recorded on December 18, 1952, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
''. The tile was given by
Ira Gitler
Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...
, who was the producer for the session. The tune also appears on the albums ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'' as "Portrait of an Ermite", ''
Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2
''Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2'' is a jazz album by Sonny Rollins. It was released in 1957 on Blue Note Records, catalogue BLP 1558. It is noted for the appearance of pianists Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, both playing on the Monk composition "M ...
'', ''
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
''Thelonious Alone in San Francisco'' is jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's third solo album, recorded in 1959. (''Piano Solo'', aka ''Solo 1954'', recorded in Paris, and ''Thelonious Himself'' (1957), were Monk's previous forays into this form.)
It ...
'', and on ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''.
According to
Gary Giddins
Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a j ...
it is "classic, paradoxical Monk, beautiful and memorable yet a minefield of odd intervals, each essential to its bricks-and-mortar structure". In the 1980s,
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
wrote lyrics for the song for
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
, who released it on her album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
'' under the name "Looking Back".
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer.
Biography
Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...
sang the tune on her 2003 album ''
A Little Moonlight
''A Little Moonlight'' is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2003.
''A Little Moonlight'' won Reeves her third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Track listing
#"Loads of Love" (Richard Rodgers) – 4:24
#"I Concentra ...
.
Rhythm-A-Ning
A tune that's based on
rhythm changes
Rhythm changes are a common 32-bar chord progression in jazz, originating as the chord progression for George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The progression is in AABA form, with each A section based on repetitions of the ubiquitous I–vi–ii–V s ...
in B, and was one of Monk's staple tunes. "Rhythm-A-Ning" was first recorded on May 15, 1957, for the album ''
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
''Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk'' is a studio album released in 1958 by Atlantic Records. It is a collaboration between the Jazz Messengers, the group led by drummer Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk on piano.
Background
Thr ...
'', and later appears on ''
Mulligan Meets Monk
''Mulligan Meets Monk'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, originally released on Riverside Records in 1957. It has been reissued numerous times. It was remastered for CD in 1987 (o ...
'', ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960'', and on ''
Criss-Cross''. It also appears on almost every single live album recorded by Monk since 1958, starting with
Thelonious in Action
''Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe'' is a 1958 album by jazz musician Thelonious Monk with Johnny Griffin. The album was recorded live at the Five Spot Café on August 7, 1958, at the same sessions that produced '' Misterioso ...
.
The A section is found in multiple recordings of Monk's friends on recordings from the 1930s to 1940s. The theme is found in
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
' arrangement of ''Walking and Swinging '' (with Andy Kirk, 1936), and on bootleg recordings of
Charlie Christian
Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist.
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
's tune "Meet Dr. Christian", recorded at
Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...
.
Monk and Williams were close friends.
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...
added lyrics to the tune, retitling it ''Listen to Monk'' and it appears on
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
's album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''.
The piece has since appeared on dozens of Monk's releases, as well as being covered by musicians such as
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
,
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era.
Biography
Born in Philadel ...
, and
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
.
Round Lights
An improvised blues in B recorded in October 1959 for ''
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
''Thelonious Alone in San Francisco'' is jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's third solo album, recorded in 1959. (''Piano Solo'', aka ''Solo 1954'', recorded in Paris, and ''Thelonious Himself'' (1957), were Monk's previous forays into this form.)
It ...
''. The album's liner notes claim the title is "in honor of" the "ancient, ornate chandeliers" in
Fugazi Hall
The Club Fugazi is a small theater and nightclub located in the North Beach, San Francisco, California district of San Francisco, California. The address is 678 Green Street.
Original building and endowment
The theater is on the ground floor i ...
, where the album was recorded.
'Round Midnight
"'Round Midnight" is Monk's most recorded tune, and the world's most recorded standard by a jazz musician. The tune was first recorded on August 22, 1944, by
Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.
Biography
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...
, after his pianist and Monk's good friend,
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
, persuaded Williams to record the tune. The song was first recorded by Monk on November 21, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions (titled as "'Round About Midnight"), and appears on many of his live albums.
Ruby, My Dear
A 32-bar ballad in AABA-form that Monk composed around 1945, and first titled "Manhattan Moods". The tune was later retitled "Ruby, My Dear" after Rubie Richardson, Monk's first love and his older sister Marion's best friend. It was however not for nostalgic reasons, but because the first phrase of the tune fit with the new title. It was first recorded on October 24, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. The tune later appears on ''
Monk's Music
''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.
Recording and music
Th ...
'', ''
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
''Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane'' is a 1961 album by Thelonious Monk issued on Jazzland Records, a subsidiary of Riverside Records. It consists of material recorded four years earlier when Monk worked extensively with John Coltrane, issued a ...
'', ''
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
''Thelonious Alone in San Francisco'' is jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's third solo album, recorded in 1959. (''Piano Solo'', aka ''Solo 1954'', recorded in Paris, and ''Thelonious Himself'' (1957), were Monk's previous forays into this form.)
It ...
'', and on ''
Solo Monk
''Solo Monk'' (1965) is the fifth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia Records, and his eighth overall for that label. The album is composed entirely of solo piano work by Monk. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is per ...
''.
Lyrics were written by Sally Swisher and the song was recorded in 1988 by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
as part of her studio album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''. For copyright reasons, the song was renamed "Dear Ruby".
S
San Francisco Holiday
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that Monk composed on New Year's Eve 1959. The tune was initially titled "Classified Information", but he opted to retitle it as "Worry Later", when recording it for the first time on April 29, 1960, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk
''Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk'' is an album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.Allmusic entry for ''Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk''/ref> It was originally issued on the Riverside label as RLP 12-323 (mono)/1171 (stereo) and Original Jazz Cla ...
''. When it appeared on the album ''
Monk in Italy
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...
'', it finally appeared under the title "San Francisco Holiday", which Monk named after his family's long stay in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky a ...
also wrote lyrics for the tune.
Shuffle Boil
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form, with an unusual bass ostinato. The title is a corruption of "shuffle ball", which is a move commonly used in
tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
. It was first recorded by
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.
While his performing career was relatively short, ...
with Monk as a sideman on October 15, 1955, for Gryce's album ''
Nica's Tempo
''Nica's Tempo'' is the most common latter-day title of an album by the Gigi Gryce Orchestra and Quartet, recorded and first released in late 1955. The title track is a reference to Nica de Koenigswarter (born Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild) ...
'', and later appears on ''
It's Monk's Time
''It's Monk's Time'' (1964) is the third studio album Thelonious Monk released on Columbia Records, and his sixth overall for that label.Allmusic entry for ''It's Monk's Time''
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
It featured three original compositions as well as three jazz sta ...
''.
Sixteen
A 16-bar tune in AABA-form, and the title is from the tune's number of bars. Its only recording was done May 30, 1952, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions, but was not released officially until
Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records is an American jazz record company and label established in 1982 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie. It produces limited-edition box sets.
The sets recordings are leased from the major record companies, usually for a three- or f ...
released their compilation of Monk's
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...
sessions.
Six in One
An improvised blues recorded for the soundtrack of French movie "
Les Liaisons dangereuses
''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782.
It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...
", directed by
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...
. Untitled at the time of the recording, Monk would later record a refined version in his San Francisco session called "Round Lights".
Skippy
A 32-bar tune in ABAC-form, and is based entirely on cycling dominant chords (or their
tritone substitution
The tritone substitution is a common chord substitution found in both jazz and classical music. Where jazz is concerned, it was the precursor to more complex substitution patterns like Coltrane changes. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used in ...
s). The tune's tonality is completely hidden until the last 4 bars clearly establish A-major. The tune was named after Nellie Monk's sister, whose real name was Evelyn. Its only recording was done on May 30, 1952, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions, but it has since the 2000s became a popular tune, with many cover versions. It is commonly agreed that the "Skippy"'s changes are based on Monk's reharmonization of "
Tea for Two" (which he would later record on ''
The Unique Thelonious Monk
''The Unique Thelonious Monk'' is a 1956 album by Thelonious Monk. It was his second for Riverside Records, and, like his Riverside debut, is made up of standards. It was a continuation of Riverside's strategy to broaden consumer interest in Monk ...
'', and on ''
Criss-Cross'',) but
Ethan Iverson
Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.
Biography
Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...
argues that Monk composed "Skippy", then applied the changes to "Tea for Two".
Something in Blue
A 12-bar blues in B. It was only recorded once, at the marathon
Black Lion Records
Black Lion Records was a British jazz record company and label based in London, England.
Alan Bates founded Black Lion Records in 1968. The label had two series of releases, one for British jazz musicians and one for international musicians. I ...
session of November 15, 1971.
Straight, No Chaser
A
12-bar blues
The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...
in B which, as in "
Blue Monk
This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk.
0-9 52nd Street Theme
A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" ...
", makes creative use of chromatics in the melody. It was first recorded July 23, 1951, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions, and later appears on ''
Mulligan Meets Monk
''Mulligan Meets Monk'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, originally released on Riverside Records in 1957. It has been reissued numerous times. It was remastered for CD in 1987 (o ...
'', ''
5 by Monk by 5
''5 by Monk by 5'' is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Recording and music
The album was recorded over three sessions in June 1959. In additio ...
'', ''
Straight, No Chaser'', and on ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''. Live versions appear on the albums recorded in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
It Club and at the
Jazz Workshop
The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied by a bar and music venue cal ...
.
Miles Davis recorded a version on his ''
Milestones
A milestone is a marker of distance along roads.
Milestone may also refer to:
Measurements
*Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project
*Software release life cycle state, s ...
'' album, in which the tune is played in F rather than B. It has been recorded numerous times by Monk and others and is one of Monk's most covered songs.
[Straight No Chaser](_blank)
a
jazzstandards.com
Retrieved April 24, 2009.
Lyrics were written by Sally Swisher and the song was recorded in 1988 by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
as part of her studio album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''. For copyright reasons, the song was renamed "Get It Straight".
Music educator Mark C. Gridley wrote about Monk's composition style: "Monk employed simple compositional devices with very original results. His 'Straight, No Chaser' involves basically only one idea played again and again, each time in a different part of the measure and with a different ending."
Stuffy Turkey
A 32-bar tune in D major that was only recorded once, on February 10, 1964, for the album ''
It's Monk's Time
''It's Monk's Time'' (1964) is the third studio album Thelonious Monk released on Columbia Records, and his sixth overall for that label.Allmusic entry for ''It's Monk's Time''
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
It featured three original compositions as well as three jazz sta ...
''. The A-section is based on
rhythm changes
Rhythm changes are a common 32-bar chord progression in jazz, originating as the chord progression for George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The progression is in AABA form, with each A section based on repetitions of the ubiquitous I–vi–ii–V s ...
, and is borrowed from
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
's tune "Stuffy".
T
Teo
A 24-bar tune in B minor in ABA-form. "Teo" was written as a tribute to Monk's, and many other of Columbia's jazz musicians', producer,
Teo Macero
Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'', and Dave ...
. The changes are based on the standard "
Topsy Topsy may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Topsy, a character in the novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
* Topsy, a character in the 2018 film ''Mary Poppins Returns''
* ''Topsy and Eva'', a 1928 film based on ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
* ''Topsy and Tim'', ...
". The tune was first recorded March 9, 1964, and first appeared on the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''.
Thelonious
A 36-bar tune in AABA-form (8-10-8-10) in B major. The tune was first recorded on October 15, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It was later recorded for the album ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
'', and live versions appear on the albums ''
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
'', and ''
Live at the Jazz Workshop
''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.
Release history
T ...
''.
The A-section is based on a riff that Monk used very often, dating back to his days as the house pianist at
Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...
. The riff contains only the pitches B and A, insisting on the tonic, and is reharmonized with descending chords.
Think of One
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form. The tune was first recorded on November 13, 1953, and appears on the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'', and later appears on the album ''
Criss-Cross''. The tune is very similar in conception to "Thelonious", as the melody insists the tonic, with albeit more unexpected changes than in "Thelonious".
Trinkle, Tinkle
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that is notorious for its difficult melody. It was first recorded on December 18, 1952, for the album ''
Thelonious Monk Trio
''Thelonious Monk Trio'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The album features his earliest recordings for Prestige Records, performing as a soloist with a rhythm section of bassist Gary Mapp (originally credited as ...
'', and later appears on the album ''
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
''Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane'' is a 1961 album by Thelonious Monk issued on Jazzland Records, a subsidiary of Riverside Records. It consists of material recorded four years earlier when Monk worked extensively with John Coltrane, issued a ...
'' and on ''
Monk's Blues
''Monk's Blues'' is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded i ...
''.
There are two stories about the origin of the title, the first explains that producer
Ira Gitler
Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...
may have misheard when Monk said the title of the tune in studio – Gitler reports that Monk may have said "Trinkle, Tinkle, like a star" instead of "Twinkle, Twinkle, like a star". It is also believed that the title is a corruption of the term "tickler", which was what the old
stride
Stride or STRIDE may refer to:
Computing
* STRIDE (security), spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, elevation of privilege
* Stride (software), a successor to the cloud-based HipChat, a corporate cloud-based ...
pianists used to call themselves.
Two Timer
A tune that was never recorded by Monk, but was first recorded by
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...
for his album ''
A Fickle Sonance'', under the title "Five Will Get You Ten". The tune was credited to
Sonny Clark
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.
Early life
Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pit ...
, who was struggling with
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
addiction at the time, and was a frequent visitor to Monk's friend,
Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (''née'' Rothschild; 10 December 1913 – 30 November 1988) was a British-born jazz patron and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Personal life
Kath ...
's house. It is believed that since Monk kept most of his sheet music in Pannonica's house, Clark stole the lead sheet and claimed as his own, in hopes of the tune being a hit. The original lead sheet was later discovered around the 1990s, and was first recorded by
Monk's son for his album ''Monk on Monk''.
U
Ugly Beauty
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that was only recorded once, on December 21, 1967, for the album ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
''. It was Monk's drummer
Ben Riley
Benjamin Alexander Riley Jr. (July 17, 1933 – November 18, 2017) was an American jazz drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and as a member of the group Sp ...
's suggestion to play the tune as a waltz, and "Ugly Beauty" is therefore significant for being Monk's only waltz. Mike Ferro later wrote lyrics to the tune, and the song was recorded in 1988 by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
as part of her studio album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''. For copyright reasons, the song was renamed "Still We Dream".
W
We See
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form, and was first recorded on May 11, 1954, for the album ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
''. It later appears on the albums ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'' under the name "Manganèse", and on ''
Straight, No Chaser''. The tune was initially called "Weetee", which was the nickname for Monk's cousin, Evelyn.
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (September 20, 1937 – November 8, 2021) was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song " Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky a ...
also wrote lyrics for the tune.
Well, You Needn't
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form that is one of Monk's most popular tunes, and is famous for its chromatically ascending/descending chords. The tune was earlier known as "You Need 'Na". The tune was first recorded on October 24, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions. It later appears on ''
Piano Solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently t ...
'', ''
Monk's Music
''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.
Recording and music
Th ...
'', and on ''
Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960''. Live versions appear on most of Monk's live albums.
The title was inspired by jazz singer Charles Beamon. Monk wrote a song and told Beamon he was going to name it after him, to which Beamon replied, "Well, you need not".
There are three widely played versions of the tune;
*Monk's version uses an F pedal in the A section, with an obbligato figure in addition to the melody. The line rises chromatically from C for each bar, then descends when it has reached E. The bridge starts on D, then ascends and descends chromatically to C, the dominant.
*Monk would in later versions play alternatingly F and G when comping, but keep the bridge as it was.
*
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
's version of the tune is comparatively more popular. Davis alters the A section's main motif, and tritone substitutes Monk's changes during the bridge. Therefore, Miles Davis starts the melody of the bridge a half-step too low.
He later recorded a contrafact of the tune, called "I Didn't", and appears on the album ''
The Musings of Miles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''.
Mike Ferro later wrote lyrics to the tune, and the song was recorded in 1988 by
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
as part of her studio album ''
Carmen Sings Monk
''Carmen Sings Monk'' is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jo ...
''. For copyright reasons, the song was renamed "It's Over Now".
Who Knows?
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form, and is notable for its difficult melody. It was only recorded once, on November 21, 1947, for the ''
Genius of Modern Music
''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 (and som ...
'' sessions.
Work
A 32-bar tune in AABA-form, and is also notable for its difficult melody, chromatic changes, and obbligato bass line. It was only recorded once, on September 22, 1954, and appears on the album ''
Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins
''Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins'' is a compilation album by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Sonny Rollins released in 1956 by Prestige Records. The tracks on it were recorded in three sessions between 1953 and 1954. ...
''.
References
Literature
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{{Thelonious Monk
Monk, Thelonius