SJZ Collective

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SJZ Collective: SJZ Collective Reimagines Monk

by Doug Collette
January 16, 2019

Until a saucy swagger kicks in on the fourth and final track, “Blue Monk," it's difficult if not impossible to recognize this music as a tribute to the late Thelonious Monk And that's perfectly appropriate--no similarly-conceived homage should be overly familiar. But it is also a tribute to the ingenuity of the SJZ Collective, and the prominence of Brian Ho's organ, which is crucial to this record's distinction. Yet, as with that concluding cut, and the opener, “Green ...