Ralph Peterson Fo'tet: The Fo'tet Plays Monk

The music of Thelonious Monk has influenced the entire spectrum of modern jazz. Tributes to Monk's music have been recorded by a wide variety of artists, from vocalist Carmen McRae to saxophonist Steve Lacy and musical auteur Hal Wilner. The rather unique line-up of the Ralph Peterson Fo'tet (drums/sax/vibraphone/bass) is refreshing on this program of Monk and Monk-inspired material.

The Fo'tet Plays Monk (Ralph Peterson, drums; Belden Bullock, bass; Bryan Carrott, vibraphone; Steve Wilson, soprano sax) brings an adventurous creativity to a set of well-chosen tunes. Ralph Peterson is a fiery leader on drums and his arrangements look at the more familiar tunes from a fresh angle. "Jackie-ing," the disc opener, is given a funky New Orleans groove, while the time signature of "Epistrophy" is stretched to 7/4. On "Light Blue," Peterson lays down an African-influenced beat over the sinuous melody. The solos by Carrott and Wilson are consistently amazing throughout. Bullock lays down an unerring pulse with his dark woody bass sound. As always, Ralph Peterson creates rhythmic firestorms that are full of musical ideas and will have you smilingly in search of the One!

The Fo'tet Plays Monk is a dazzling tribute to the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk. Very highly recommended.