Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Han Bennink: Monk Volume One

395

Han Bennink: Monk Volume One

By

View read count
Han Bennink: Monk Volume One
Pity the straight man that has to play alongside the comedic drummer Han Bennink. In his 50+ years of music making, no gesture, tap, thump, or strike has gone unnoticed. And while he has covered the music of Thelonious Monk before, never has Monk, as interpreted by Bennink, sounded better.

On paper this recording, a piano trio, figures for a standard trip around Monk's planet. Funny how this music was considered odd or strange, back in the day. The twelve tracks heard are all familiar fare to the fan—that is, of course, until Bennink gets involved.

Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap is a chameleon of a player, equally comfortable in rock, jazz, fusion, or classical music. The third member of the trio is bassist Ernst Glerum, a veteran of the infamous ICP Orchestra and a regular player in all matters of the New Dutch Swing.

There is no doubt who is directing things here. Playing from a single snare drum, Bennink talks Monk's language. For his part, Borstlap eschews the straight Monk imitation. That, of course, could be disastrous. He prefers a slightly more modern approach, updating Monk's stride for thicker chords and a pinch of sentimentality rarely heard in Monk's playing.

But what can you do when Bennink is playing all over his single snare drum, shuffling notes, and changing the time at will? Unlike fellow Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg, Borstlap chooses not to go toe-to-toe with Bennink. On "Evidence," he dances around the drummer, sticking to a two-handed bluesy swing that Herbie Hancock might have summoned. He rounds the edges that Bennink folds sharply, providing a gentle swing to Bennink's hijinks.

Alongside Alexander von Schlippenbach's Monk's Casino (Intakt, 2005), this is certainly one of the finest Monk tributes to come along in recent years.

Track Listing

Four In One; Think Of One; Mysterioso; Skippy; Pannonica; Epistrophy; Nutty (Alt. Take); Bye-Ya; Crepuscule With Nellie; Evidence; Let's Cool One; Ask Me Now.

Personnel

Ernst Glerum: bass; Michiel Borstlap: piano; Han Bennink: drums.

Album information

Title: Monk Volume One | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Atavistic

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.