Jazz From Lincoln Center: Monk's Mood

MONK'S MOOD:

Interpretations of the Music of Thelonious Monk

18 February 1994

1) Music: M32 Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are

(Marcus Roberts)

2) Vox: Muhal Richard Abrams (Int. #33 17)

"He was very inspirational. Monk was like some other people that come along in our lives, they're musician's musicians. They're generators...that serve to teach."

3) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK WAS A JAZZ ORIGINAL---A QUIRKY, BRILLIANT PIANO-PLAYER WHOSE GROUNDBREAKING COMPOSITIONS PROVIDED A MUSICAL CLASSROOM FOR MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, AND SONNY ROLLINS -- TO NAME A FEW. WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM HIS INSTINCTIVE RE-INVENTION OF JAZZ TECHNIQUE AND FEELING IS STILL CELEBRATED BY JAZZ MUSICIANS TODAY.

MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS, ABBEY LINCOLN, KENNY BARRON, AND MARCUS ROBERTS ARE LEADING CONTEMPORARY PLAYERS WHO HAVE LEARNED FROM THE MASTER. IN THIS HOUR, WE'LL HEAR HOW THEY INTERPRET THE SOUND OF THELONIOUS MONK.

THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

4) Music: [music crossfades to audience ambience]

5) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK WAS BORN IN 1917 IN NORTH CAROLINA. BUT HE LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE ON THE WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN IN A NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED SAN JUAN HILL. LINCOLN CENTER WAS BUILT OVER A PART OF THAT DISTRICT IN THE EARLY SIXTIES, SO MONK COULD WALK THE FEW BLOCKS FROM HIS HOME TO PERFORM THERE IN AN HISTORIC 1963 NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW. AFTER 25 YEARS OF PLAYING, MONK'S WORK HAD FINALLY WON PUBLIC ACCLAIM; THE ENTRANCE OF 1964 WAS CELEBRATED WITH ROOTS, TOOTS, TRINKLES, TINKLES, AND LIGHT BLUES.

IN 1993, LINCOLN CENTER'S JAZZ DEPARTMENT RECREATED THIS TRIUMPHANT CONCERT, INVITING MUSICIANS TO PLAY SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE MONK TUNES.

MARCUS ROBERTS, REGINALD VEAL AND BILLY HIGGINS CHOSE MONK'S CHALLENGING CLASSIC, "CRISS CROSS."

6) Music: M82 Criss Cross 3:50

(Marcus Roberts with Reginald Veal & Billy Higgins)

7) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK'S "CRISS CROSS," WITH MARCUS ROBERTS ON PIANO, REGINALD VEAL PLAYING BASS, AND BILLY HIGGINS ON DRUMS ON STAGE AT ALICE TULLY HALL. (cont.)

7) Bradley: (cont'd)

THELONIOUS MONK'S MUSIC WAS A WORLD UNTO ITSELF. IT WAS FULL OF SURPRISES, UNORTHODOX HARMONIES, ACCENTS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES, MELODIES THAT TOOK STRANGE TWISTS AND TURNS. BUT IT COULD ALSO BE SWEET, SIMPLE AND VERY LYRICAL.

WYNTON MARSALIS, ALONE ON TRUMPET, REVEALS THE BEAUTY AT THE HEART OF MONK'S "REFLECTIONS."

8) Music: M32 Reflections 4:15

(Wynton Marsalis)

9) Bradley:

"REFLECTIONS" BY THELONIOUS MONK---WYNTON MARSALIS ON TRUMPET AT LINCOLN CENTER.

10) Vox: Marcus Roberts (Int #35 12)

"First of all, nobody's ever going to perform Monk's music the way he performed it, because the level of intelligence, discipline and life experience that would be necessary does not exist in any other person but him."

11) Vox: Kenny Barron (Int #33 08)

12) Bradley:

PIANISTS MARCUS ROBERTS AND KENNY BARRON.

NO ONE CAN PLAY THE PIANO EXACTLY THE WAY THELONIOUS MONK DID. BUT A PIANIST WHO UNDERSTANDS MONK'S MESSAGE CAN CATCH MONK'S SPIRIT, HIS STRENGTH AND HIS HUMOR - AND AT THE SAME TIME, GIVE THE MUSIC HIS OWN PERSONAL TOUCH.

WE'RE ABOUT TO HEAR MARCUS ROBERTS DO JUST THAT IN A SOLO RENDITION OF ONE OF MONK'S GREAT BLUES, "MONK'S POINT." FOLLOWING THAT, WE'LL HEAR A QUARTET LED BY WES ANDERSON ON ALTO SAX PLAY ANOTHER CLASSIC MONK BLUES, "RAISED FOUR."

HERE'S MARCUS ROBERTS ON "MONK'S POINT."

13) Music: M82 Monk's Point 4:12

(Marcus Roberts)

M82 Raised Four (1993 performance) 8:04

(Wes Anderson, Marcus Roberts, Reginald Veal, & Billy Higgins)

[edit down this song]

14) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK'S "RAISED FOUR." WES ANDERSON ON ALTO SAXOPHONE, MARCUS ROBERTS ON PIANO, REGINALD VEAL ON BASS, AND BILLY HIGGINS PLAYED THE DRUMS.

14) Bradley: (cont'd.)

SAXOPHONIST CRAIG HANDY IS ONE OF THE MANY YOUNGER JAZZ MUSICIANS WHO LEARNED HIS CRAFT IN PART BY STUDYING THE WORK OF THELONIOUS MONK.

NOW, IN A TOUR DE FORCE OF IMPROVISATION, CRAIG HANDY PLUMBS THE DEPTHS OF "BEMSHA SWING." LIKE MANY OF MONK'S COMPOSITIONS, THIS IS A PIECE THAT IS FAR LESS SIMPLE THAN IT SEEMS.

15) Music: M32 Bemsha Swing (Monk-Best) 7:10

(Craig Handy)

16) Bradley:

CRAIG HANDY, TENOR SAXOPHONE----THELONIOUS MONK'S "BEMSHA SWING" AT ALICE TULLY HALL IN NEW YORK.

(applause fades - cross to music under as Bradley continues)

17) Music: M#31 We See (for midbreak music)

(Todd Williams)

18) Bradley:

JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PRODUCED WITH FUNDS FROM THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMES FROM A MAJOR GRANT FROM THE LILA (LYE-la) WALLACE READER'S DIGEST FUND, CONNECTING ARTISTS AND COMMUNITIES THROUGH JAZZ, AND NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO MEMBER STATIONS THROUGH THE N-P-R CULTURAL PROGRAM FUND.

YOU'RE LISTENING TO JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

[Midbreak: 10 sec Window for local station I.D.]

19) Music: (music fades to actuality)

20) Vox: Wes Anderson (Int #32 01)

"You really have to make sure that you...articulate the tune the way...it was composed by Monk and still make it sound good...giving as much homage as you can to Monk because all his music has a certain aura about it and his music...has to be given the right amount of respect, the right amount of reverence as far as knowing exactly the content of the music and just understanding the framework, the structure of the music."

21) Bradley:

SAXOPHONIST WES ANDERSON---FEATURED SOLOIST IN LINCOLN CENTER'S 1993 TRIBUTE CONCERT TO THELONIOUS MONK.

LIKE THE ORIGINAL 1963 SHOW, THIS CONCERT ALSO FEATURED BIG-BAND ARRANGEMENTS OF MONK'S MUSIC, WRITTEN BY HALL OVERTON. HERE'S THE SWINGIN' "I MEAN YOU."

22) Music: M82 I Mean You 8:55

(Marcus Roberts, Wynton Marsalis, Wes Anderson, Billy Higgins & ??)

23) Bradley:

"I MEAN YOU"---WITH SOLOISTS MARCUS ROBERTS ON PIANO, WYNTON MARSALIS ON TRUMPET, WES ANDERSON ON ALTO SAXOPHONE AND BILLY HIGGINS PLAYING DRUMS.

24) Vox: Muhal Richard Abrams (Int #33 20)

"It impressed me very much, as it has impressed many others...

25) Bradley:

PIANIST MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS.

26) Vox: Muhal Richard Abrams

"The sound that you were encompassed with when he would play. ...When you would hear Monk, you knew that was Monk, right? ....

(#33 21) The challenge is to try to capture the simplicity in the music...Because he used simplicity but he created great complexities, just from the impression he would get in the way that he would combine and intermingle these simplicities....So that's the challenge when you play Monk's music."

27) Bradley:

THE COMPOSITION MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS PLAYED AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ONE OF MONK'S MOST DELICATE WORKS---AND ONE OF HIS MOST DURABLE. ITS TITLE, LIKE ITS MELODY, IS PURE THELONIOUS: A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THE ORDINARY, BUT VERY BEAUTIFUL. IT'S DEDICATED TO MONK'S WIFE, AND TO THE TIME OF DAY THAT MOST OF US CALL TWILIGHT.

"CREPUSCULE WITH NELLIE."

(pronounced either "kree - PUS - sil" or "kree - PUS - kyool")

28) Music: M82 Crepuscule With Nellie 11:38

(Muhal Richard Abrams)

29) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK'S "CREPESCULE WITH NELLIE," AS INTERPRETED BY MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS.

THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY. (cont.)

29) Bradley: (cont'd)

SO FAR WE'VE HEARD THE MUSIC OF THELONIOUS MONK PLAYED SOLO, BY A TRIO, A QUARTET, AND AN ELEVEN-PIECE BAND. BUT IT ISN'T JUST INSTRUMENTALISTS WHO HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY MONK. MORE THAN A FEW SINGERS HAVE COME UNDER HIS INFLUENCE AS WELL.

ONE OF THE BEST OF THEM, ABBEY LINCOLN, WROTE AND RECORDED LYRICS TO MONK'S MOST FAMOUS BLUES COMPOSITION, "BLUE MONK." HER WORDS PROVIDE A KIND OF THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF MONK'S PHILOSOPHY.

HERE'S ABBEY LINCOLN SINGING "BLUE MONK."

30) Music: M2 Blue Monk 5:15

(Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, Jackie McClean, Cedar Walton, David Williams, & Billy Higgins)

31) Bradley:

"BLUE MONK." ABBEY LINCOLN WITH WYNTON MARSALIS ON TRUMPET, JACKIE MCLEAN ON ALTO SAXOPHONE, CEDAR WALTON ON PIANO, DAVID WILLIAMS ON BASS AND BILLY HIGGINS PLAYING DRUMS.

LYRICS BY ABBEY LINCOLN.

32) Bradley: [CREDITS]

THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER, PRODUCED FOR THE JAZZ DEPARTMENT AT LINCOLN CENTER BY MURRAY STREET ENTERPRISE, NEW YORK. OUR PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY PETER KEEPNEWS AND CHARLES PRIMERANO, EDITED BY LAUREN KRENZEL. SENIOR PRODUCER IS STEVE RATHE.

(bring up MUSIC for credits)

33) Bradley: [CREDITS]

THE MUSIC WAS RECORDED BY JIM ANDERSON AND MARK WILDER WITH FACILITIES PROVIDED BY EFFANEL MUSIC. DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY STEPHEN ERICKSON AND RICK BRADLEY.

THE DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ROB GIBSON. ARTISTIC ADVISORS ARE WYNTON MARSALIS AND STANLEY CROUCH.

I'M ED BRADLEY.

34) Music [end song here and run applause under rest]

35) Bradley: THIS IS N-P-R, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO.

SPARE PARTS

Music:

CRISS CROSS BEMSHA SWING WE SEE

REFLECTIONS I MEAN YOU

MONK'S POINT CREPUSCULE WITH NELLIE (pron. either: kree - PUS - sil or kree - PUS - kyool)

RAISE FOUR BLUE MONK

Performers:

ABBEY LINCOLN RONALD WESTRAY

KENNY BARRON HERB HARRIS

DAVID WILLIAMS WALTER BLANDING

BILLY HIGGINS MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS

CRAIG HANDY WES ANDERSON

MARCUS ROBERTS CEDAR WALTON

WYNTON MARSALIS

THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

WITH JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER, I'M ED BRADLEY.

THIS IS NPR, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO.

Audio Promo

1) Music:

2) Bradley:

THELONIOUS MONK. HIS MUSIC TAUGHT A GENERATION OF JAZZ GREATS AND IT STILL INSPIRES MUSICIANS TODAY.

I'M ED BRADLEY. I'LL BE YOUR HOST WHEN MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS, ABBEY LINCOLN, KENNY BARRON AND AND ALL-STAR LINE-UP INTERPRET THE MUSIC AND THE MAGIC OF THELONIOUS MONK.

JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO.

3) Music [fades out]