Frank Carlberg Trio: Reflections 1952

How does one approach a Thelonious Monk tribute recording? Does the pianist sound like Monk? Truthfully, it is rare for a musician to replicate the high priest of bebop's distinctive and eccentric sound. Walter Davis Jr. could, but most other attempts are easily exposed as forgeries. The finest tributes are the ones that originate with the musician's language, like the South American sounds of Danilo Pérez' Panamonk (Impulse!, 1996), Steve Lacy's soprano saxophone interpretations or guitarist Miles Okazaki's covers. Add to this list, pianist Frank Carlberg, bassist John Hébert, and drummer Francisco Mela's re-imagined first recordings for Bob Weinstock's Prestige Records in the early 1950s.

Monk had gained notoriety with his previous Blue Note Record sessions, but his original sound was often overshadowed by the expansion of Monk's trio into a quintet and sextet. This required space for other soloists who often diluted Monk's vision. Carlberg's trio with additional spoken word passages from Priya Carlberg and Paul Lichter hits the sweet spot in this tribute to the Monk 1950s trio by delivering a performance that it is an original conception, but true to Monk's spirit. This is achieved by reimagining his compositions either through an Afro-Cuban lens, as in "Bemsha Cubano," as a spoken Monk quote generator, in "Reflecting Reflections," and mostly as deconstruction of the original materials: "Getting To Trinkle (for "Trinkle Tinkle") and "See You Later" ("Bye-Ya"). Carlberg, Hébert, and Mela use Monk's music as source material much like the great man did with the standard "Just a Gigolo." The trio give us two versions of the composition, the spooky music box "A Crowd Of Gigolo" and an echoey trancelike rendition, both with vocals from Prita Carlberg. Somewhere in heaven, one imagines Monk must be smiling.