When talking about the impact of Thelonious Monk, where does one begin? Is it his inimitable style and approach to the piano, one still being dissected today worldwide? Is it his body of compositional work, music absolutely essential to the repertoire of both the most straightahead and avant garde groups? Or perhaps his persona, defining the introspective and cerebral jazz player, is a good starting point. Certainly his massive discography, Picasso-like in its divisions, on labels like Blue Note, Riverside and Columbia, is required listening for all jazz fans and practitioners. Born 92 years ago this month and dying in 1982 in isolation and without a recording in over a decade, Monk represents the highs and lows of this music. If there is any question that his innovations are still being felt, take a trip to one of the Monk tributes this month: the annual Monk-A-Thon piano marathon at the Winter Garden Oct. 9th, celebrations of Robin DG Kelley’s Monk biography at Brecht Forum Oct. 8th and Dwyer Cultural Center Oct. 13th, a Monk birthday brunch at The Greene Space Oct. 10th and concerts by pianist Eric Reed at Smoke Oct. 16th-17th. And for an interesting perspective, read our Megaphone by guitarist Bobby Broom on adapting Monk’s music for a different instrument. But jazz is a music with feet firmly planted in both its past and future. Bobby Bradford (Interview) is an elder statesman of both the trumpet and avant garde and is honored at the annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) this month. And spearheading a modern jazz guitar renaissance is Kurt Rosenwinkel (Artist Feature), in residency at Village Vanguard. And don’t miss the two-day celebration of seminal British label Incus (Label Spotlight) at Abrons Arts Center.
While we lament the end of summer, we have playoff baseball to look forward to, the early hopes of the football season and more great CDs and concerts than you can shake a leafless stick at. Forget April in Paris, there’s no place better than New York in October, especially for music lovers.
We’ll see you out there...
