An atheist is just someone who has never listened to Monk! How Thelonious Monk Changed Jazz.

Many Jazz musicians and critics of his time were often put off by his stubbornness to conform to the conventional music style of his generation. When the others chose to play it fast, Thelonious Monk chose to take it angular, spacious, and slow, even though everyone knew he could play the piano as fast and as ‘good’ as the legendary James P. Johnson. Moreover, he could occasionally stand and dance to the solos of his bandmates, a peculiar habit that some of his critics deemed as voodoo rituals. Even Monk’s collaborator, Miles Davis, once admitted that he wondered why Monk stuck to a combination of chords that ‘sounded wrong.’

Despite the initial negative reviews, Monk slowly won over the world to become one of the most covered jazz artist of the 20th century. Monk’s music was characterized by astringent dissonance, irregular rhythms, and unexpected angles; his style in the album “Criss Cross” featured several motivic developments in compositions and brilliant use improvisation while the album “Brilliant Corners featured a 22-bar structure that proved difficult for many instrumentalists to master.

Monk is remembered among John Coltrane and Miles Davis as some of the most influential names in the development of Jazz. Monk’s strange yet innovative way of striking the piano was not popular with his earlier crowd who were more accustomed to the swing era of Jazz. Moreover, he negotiated the keyboard in unfamiliar ways that made him thought as inept by his former critics. Monk’s music was characterized by astringent dissonance, abrupt rhythms and unexpected angles, which led many to associate him with the leader of the beat generation in Jazz. Furthermore, he came to symbolize the new post-war face of Jazz that went beyond its entertainment value and was considered an intellectual exercise.

Monk was at the forefront of Bebop development, where he is described as, “a strange person whose piano prowess continued to baffle those who heard him.” The way Monk hit the piano was termed as harsh and percussive even when he was doing ballads. Monk usually hit the piano with two of his fingers held flat than in the conventional natural curve with his other free fingers elevated high above the keys. Because his right elbow was often fanned out, Monk hit the piano key at an angle, sometimes hitting a single key with more than two fingers. Audiences reacted differently to his unorthodoxies earning him significant criticism of recognition.

Thelonious Monk’s third album by Riverside Records, “Brilliant Corners” (1957), marked his comeback to the Jazz music scene after a long absence due to a suspended license and became his most critically acclaimed album to date. Unlike his previous two albums, “Brilliant Corners” was the first album containing Monk’s compositions. Side one of “Brilliant Corners” contains the songs “Brilliant Corners” and “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are,” both of which were written by Monk. Side two of the album contain the songs,” Pannonica,” written by Monk, “I surrender, Dear,” written by Harry Barris, and “Bemsha Swing,” written by Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best. The ensemble was Monk on piano and celeste, Ernie Henry on the Alto saxophone, Sonny Rollins on the tenor saxophone, Oscar Pettiford on double bass, Clark Terry on trumpet, and Paul Chambers on double bass during the production of “Bemsha Swing.”

Recording the title track was the most difficult for Monk and his personnel because of its complexity that saw his sidemen take twenty-five takes with tensions growing in each take. The harmonic movement and the beginning sixteen bars of Brilliant Corner’s melody take a circular shape. However, the song’s bridge maintains Monk’s signature descending chromatic chord progression. The first chorus and the solo play are in a leisurely dirge that repeats in double time. As noted by the band, the biggest challenge in recording “Brilliant Corners” was mastering the song’s 22-bar structure considering they were accustomed to the regular 32-bar song form; hence, they ended up in a loop trying to play the 22.

The song “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are” was a blues referencing Baroness Pannonica’s constant running with the management of Hotel Bolivar for her late parties. “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are” has a simple AAB form that changes when it gets to the B where Monk’s accent falls within the bar lines. The song “Pannonica” was also a dedication to Monk’s longtime friend Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and the songs open with Monk playing a melody on a celeste.

Monk positioned the celeste perpendicular to the piano, a position that enabled him to play it with his right hand while playing the piano with his left. Thus, the entire combination produces a sound that is jarringly juxtapositioned in most parts of the track. “Pannonica” is more than thirteen minutes long and features occasional unconventional bars. The most memorable moment on Pannonica has to be Henry’s looping, slurred, and crying notes on the alto saxophone. Moreover, Monk stands out for his accompanying inventive solos that add humor to Henry and Rollin’s bluesy wails.

Criss-Cross was another critically acclaimed Monk album released in 1963 by Columbia Records. The album consisted of previously recorded Monk music that was redone by the Thelonious Monk Quartet under the direction of Columbia Records. Despite relatively favorable reviews, some critics have criticized Criss-Cross for featuring materials that are “worn out” and offering few new compositions in return. Side one of the album contains the songs “Hackensack,” “Tear for Two,” “Criss-Cross,” and “Eronel.” Side two of the album contains the songs “Rhythm a Ning,” “Do not Blame Me, Think of One,” and “Crepuscule with Nellie.” The personnel in the album are Monk on the Piano, Charlie Rouse on the tenor saxophone, John Ore on the Bass, and Frankie Dunlop on the drums.

Monk was a musician known for motivic development in compositions and timely use improvisation, and nowhere does his prowess in these elements manifests than in Criss-Cross. For the Monk’s song “Criss-Cross,” the melodies are built in the a and b motives while the gesture motive c comes during the introduction, unlike in previous recordings to allude in the final part dominated by Monk’s piano. “Criss-Cross’s” form is AABA, and the omission of the mm in the B section gives the song a six bar bridge section that is in the form of 30 measures. Monk frequently uses augmentation where the motive is accorded different states of augmentation and varying rhythmic values. Moreover, Monk uses left-hand voices to fulfil the functions of counter lines and rhythmic punctuation.

Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk highly unusual instrumental techniques were subjects of considerable controversy and praise. Monk’s music was characterized by astringent dissonance, irregular rhythms, and unexpected angles, which led many to associate him with the leader of the beat generation in Jazz.

Next time I discuss the musical techniques and influence of the legendary Louis Armstrong.

Related posts:

Imagine you want to develop a new product. Then every discipline has its focus; the production department pays attention to the logistics process, an IT employee examines whether the development of…

A vicarious virtual Career Fair (vCF) practice experience. Suggestions on designing better experiences for future organizers.

I just finished reading, How one woman fought to get her husband tested while her state was applauded for having no coronavirus. It is a story of one family’s frustration trying to maneuver through…