Thelonius

It was back in December 2011 that Thelonius first got together at Factory Studios in Bristol to rehearse.

Back then it was Dan, Tim and Richard, fresh out of a bruising but rewarding experience with a UK hip-hop crew, who decided to revisit the music that was closest to their hearts.

That music was dominated by J Dilla, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, Pete Rock and DJ Premier as well as the new kid on their block Robert Glasper and his team of wunderkinds, The Experiment.

What was needed Gumtree was Tom with a penchant was a jazz piano player and the first one up on Mcmahon-Hore, a classically trained budding genius for EST and Thelonious Monk.

The first rehearsal was one big laid back groove as Thelonius put T.R.O.Y. through its paces and quickly followed that up with Stakes is High, Ex Girl to Next Girl and what would later become Spanish Joint.

Rehearsal followed rehearsal and in late Jan 2012, a call from ace local promoter Deirdre Ward landed the first gig at the Big Chill Bar in Bristol.

The live set now included tracks by A Tribe Called Quest, Common and EST as well as those hip-hop classics that started it all.

In the early days, the band thought about trying out DJs to broaden the palette but a chance meeting at an End of the Line gig saw the arrival of Imogen, her saxophone and her oboe.

Imogen’s skills were instantly put to good use on the originals that had been stewing in the recesses of the ATM rehearsal rooms with Dan and Rich trying to reduce the number of notes and Tom, Imo and Tim all trying to increase them.

Her first gig was a small pub in Bristol, her second a Phoenix Nights style club in Bath - complete with dodgy posters and an audience of 70+ year olds.

Since then, gigs at the now sadly extinct Spring Gardens, the note fest at the Louisiana and two stunners at The Plantation in Bristol saw the band grow in confidence enough to jump in a studio.

The fruits of those sessions, sometimes torturous, always fun, with the wonderfully exact Jon Sinnott are laid bare on this collection.

We hope you enjoy them - Bristol July 2012.

REMINISCE - Thelonius

101 - M’Njun - (Baker, Darbon, Evans, Mcmahon-Hore, Walker) Ahhh the lovely but bonkers M’Njun, or Nnnggguuunn or Mahengen as Tom calls it. It started life as an interpretation of the drum beat to Prince’s Sign O’The Times and developed via the closing suite on The Roots Undun. It was also the original with the most difficult birth. It took forever and Dan needs kudos for the middle section breakdown.

102 - Stakes is High > T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You) - (K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason, J. Yancey, Phillips, Penn, Scott) This is our homage to two of the greatest hip-hop producers ever - J Dilla and Pete Rock. We hope we do the two tunes justice and that Dilla approves - wherever he is.

103 - Spanish Joint - (Baker, Darbon, Evans, Mcmahon-Hore, Walker) This has a long history. It began life as a beat from Stanton Moore’s book on New Orleans Street Beats (RRLRRLRL) and turned into an eastern flavored jam at rehearsals with the Sons of South boys. Once Tom and Imo arrived it got some shape and form and the beautifully sad piano and oboe intro and outro which resolved the whole piece.

104 - The Lizard - (Baker, Darbon, Evans, Mcmahon-Hore, Walker) What can I say about The Lizard. Tom brought this to rehearsal a long time ago and it features what are probably the best solos on Reminisce. Its present state was as a result of a soundcheck when we played it at what seemed like 60 bpm. It was poor. Gig time came and Tom suddenly launched into that distinctive left hand piano part with bit too much vigor and caught us by surprise. The result is plain to see. The sax solo makes me cry by the way.

105 - Voodoo Monkey - (Baker, Darbon, Evans, Mcmahon-Hore, Walker) Voodoo Monkey was the first proper collaboration. It was a great Voodoo-ish riff and another Stanton Moore drum thing (Chapter One - first exercise of Take It To The Street) that started it all before Imo, Tom and Dan got their hands on it and added their parts.

Tim Baker - Guitars Dan Darbon - Electric and Acoustic Bass Richard Evans - Drums and Percussion Tom Mcmahon-Hore - Piano and Electric Piano Imogen Walker - Oboe, Saxophone and Electronics

Produced by Thelonius and Jon Sinnott Engineered, Recorded and Mixed by Jon Sinnott at Access to Music, Bristol Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol Design - Liz Hegarty at em communications, Bristol Published and Distributed by Essential Drop Records, Bristol, United Kingdom. All right reserved 2012

www.thelonius.co.uk @theloniusband www.facebook.com/Theloniusband www.nimbitmusic.com/thelonius http://theloniusband.bandcamp.com/ Show less