Prestige 7169 / PRLP CD7075 / CD OJC 2531-059-2 / Esquire
32-115
Notes by Ira Gitler
Friday the Thirteenth: (November 13, 1953)
Sonny Rollins - tenor. Julius Watkins - french-horn. Thelonious
Monk - piano. Percy Heath - bass. Willie Jones - drums.
Work; Nutty; (September 22, 1954)
Thelonious Monk - piano. Percy Heath - bass. Art Blakey -
drums.
The Way You Look Tonight; I Want To Be Happy; (October 25,
1954)
Sonny Rollins - tenor. Thelonious Monk - piano. Tommy Potter -
bass. Art Taylor - drums.
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The position of legendary figure is usually reserved for a
deceased musician who has played two decades before. It usually requires this
posthumous status and span of time for the various stories concerning him to
grow into a legend, but it took a very-much-alive Thelonious Monk only five
years to surround himself with an air of mystery and receive the title
"High Priest of Bebop" in the Forties.
Perhaps this element of weird glamour prevented many people
from enjoying Monk's music to the fullest extent. Certainly he is always low
man on the totem pole whenever the triumvirate of the founding fathers of bop
is evaluated. This is due in part, no doubt, to the greater solo prowess of
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, but Thelonious' contributions in time, chord
patterns and the original lines resulting from them were unjustly minimized.
Actually they were the basis for much of the jazz of the Forties and Fifties.
Today he stands as an individual, a highly original musician
who is the mentor of many young musicians in New York and the influence of
countless others all over the globe. In his writing and playing, he
consistently proves his right to the often misapplied title of creator.
November 13, 1953 was a Friday. At WOR Studios preparations
were being made for the recording date that would soon commence. Julius
Watkins, who had been called in as a last-minute replacement for an ailing Ray
Copeland, warmed up in muted tones. Percy Heath and Willie Jones made separate
entrances and soon the scheduled two o'clock starting time was clearly
indicated by the studio wall-clock (a constant visual magnet at most recording
sessions) without there being a sign of Thelonious Monk or Sonny Rollins.
Someone half-laughed, "Friday the thirteenth", and there followed
much pacing, more clock watching and a few phone calls. In the neighbourhood of
three o'clock, Monk and Sonny arrived. Their cab had rammed the rear of a
motorcycle, causing no physical injury but considerably delaying the affairs of
the afternoon and adding greatly to the usual anxieties of recording. From then
on it was a battle against the red second hand, with the fact that Julius had
not seen the music before another handicap. Any accomplished musician should
have no trouble sight-reading and Julius didn't, but there was the matter of
getting the feel of the tune and its chord changes which is something never to
be achieved with celerity, unless by someone of Charlie Parker's ilk.
Friday the thirteenth was an inevitable title. Its mood seemed
to fit the happenings of the day. Everybody reflects a sadness although in
different degrees. Sonny, Julius and Monk each solo at length. Then the three
engage in four bar conversations after which Monk solos again. Drummer Willie
Jones solos over and under the final melody statement.
As a belated sequel to Thelonious' successful trio sessions of
1952, this one was also richly rewarding. Though not a great soloist from the
standpoint of technique, brilliance and flash, Monk's originality of style and
width of idea serve to make him a highly interesting and important one. His
playing can be characterized by roast beef, and a martini in which vermouth
plays a very minor supporting role; much meat and very dry.
The trio often serves as a workshop for Monk's combos with the
lines being embellished by Monk for his larger group.
Work and Nutty are thought provoking themes by Monk that serve
as energetic workouts for the trio. Percy is a tower of strength throughout,
contributing solos of note on both. Art is always building something while
swinging; his solos are delights of rhythmic perfection and imagination and
Thelonious is a past master at rhythmic patterns and time sequences.
Almost a year after the Friday the thirteenth session, Monk and
Sonny Rollins were reunited on records. Two of the most fertile minds in modern
music took two jazz standards and explored them. Sonny was closer to Charlie
Parker then (but no imitator) with indications of further development along his
own lines clearly shown. Monk, as always, made something extremely personal of
the material at hand whether he had written it or not.
Both The Way You Look Tonight and I Want To Be Happy are
swingers with hope and optimism running through them.
IRA GITLER