Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tony Monaco: The Definition of Insanity

4

Tony Monaco: The Definition of Insanity

By

View read count
Tony Monaco: The Definition of Insanity
Did you order it? Somebody ordered the party platter, because B3 maestro Tony Monaco is delivering. His music is for all intents and purposes a celebration. With The Definition of Insanity, a reference to doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, he confesses to be under the influence of the same mania as the legends Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Reuben Wilson, Richard "Groove" Holmes, and Jimmy McGriff. If this man is insane, I say we spread a bit of his madness into these demented times.

Monaco doesn't stick to a strictly soul-jazz program, but everything he plays here is infused with a profound soulfulness. Opening with a cool run through the Phish tune "Cars Trucks Buses," his quartet circles the jam-band school with guitarist Derek DiCenzo's jangly notes and the Orleans swing of drummer Tony McClung. Monaco intends to take us through an assortment of emotions during this party. He shifts into Lee Morgan's bossa nova with "Ceora," then pulls the rug out with "Root Down," which fans of the Beastie Boys will instantly recognize from their recording Ill Communication (Grand Royal, 1994). The music was actually sampled from Jimmy Smith's 1972 composition "Root Down (and Get It)." Monaco's version, with the funk spread thick by DiCenzo, give a nod to the Boys, but retains the feel of Smith's version. Head swimming by now (and it should be), Monaco shifts into the (often considered banal) Italian pop tune "Quando Quando Quando." Like much of Monaco's party music, he can inject life into a corny corpse. Even the Grateful Dead's (imagine Jeffrey Lebowski telling his cab driver, "I've had a rough day and I hate the Dead") "Truckin'" rallies with a certain glint that satisfies both the jazzbo and neo-hippie.

But, it ain't a party unless Monaco delivers a sermon. Here, we get three vocals by the organist. "Never Let Me Go" adds piano by Asako Monaco, Tony's wife. The Leon Russell classic "A Song For You" is delivered with Monaco playing some piano then organ, and on the traditional Neapolitan song "Non Ti Scordare Di Me," he adds accordion to his vocals. Bravo maestro, bravo.

Track Listing

Cars Trucks Buses; Ceora; Root Down; Never Let Me Go; Quando Quando Quando; Non Ti Scordare Di Me; Awa Athar; Last Date; Truckin’; Triste; A Song for You.

Personnel

Tony Monaco
organ, Hammond B3

Album information

Title: The Definition of Insanity | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Chicken Coup Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Tony Monaco Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.