Monk - Jazz Portrait 4/6 - Nice Work If You Can Get It

[theopaopa1]

hay millares de excelentes maravillosos musicos en todo el planeta

monk es el bach del siglo XX

hermeto pascoal el mozart

beethoven no hubo

(digo, es un decir)

[2300skiddo]

Absolutely great! All the hundreds of records Monk played, he was ALWAYS good, and usually great. Who else can you say that about? THANKS for sharing!!

[RAHMYULIS]

somebody wipe him down! lawd! dat man werkin!

[Gorboduc]

4:07

[kalpubinc]

He actually re-invented Gershwin and re-made a basic nice jazzy Broadway tune into one of the greatest classical pieces that even Gershwin would wished he could have invented. The dissonant chords, the syncopation, the unmelodic melody, the inventiveness of the improvisation, are not "normal"; they only dwell in the heads of the gods; the tonal atonality, the heart breaking stridency have not been heard ever since Monk left this world.

[cavaleer]

@kalpubinc You summarized Monk's genius beautifully.

[kalpubinc]

Monk had many scales of his own that, really, the western piano could not provide to his full satisfaction; he did the best he could with what he had. He heard music in a twitlight zone, in an another world type of dimension. Monk was a god, and his music is immortal.

[ohmphthschwrhu]

@kalpubinc a famous monk quote'I DEPEND ON 88'.No matter if you playing a thousand note piano you still dont need but five notes to sound good,pentatonic.all other notes DONT have to sound good ,they just have to make sense within the 5 to 10 critical seconds for which the heart is capable of tolerating and forgiving the ugliness.5 of monks notes sound 'good'.the rest of his notes sound ugly on purpose'Hes keeping the 5 good sounding notes from sounding bad.monotony.renewing the pentatonic

[kalpubinc]

@ohmphthschwrhu That is a great insight into Monk's mind. Composition wise makes a lot of sense - five notes ad infinitum.

[wastemgmt07]

@kalpubinc Just happen to be in the mood for some Monk, and your description was quite accurate. I am not a musician, but just a fan. Monk would play with his band members , then his solo would just go off somewhere like you said "in a twilight zone". Just awesome stuff for us to enjoy. Life is good

[postatility]

I didn't know Gershwin personally,but I think George would be smiling if he heard this.

[comateensnyc]

Also a testament to the extraordinary power of George Gershwin as a songwriter; to write music strong enough to be filtered through the prisms of thousands of jazz players, including a powerhouse like Monk, and still retain its essential Gershwin-esque character.

[DajaWaja]

@comateensnyc this is so very true, the gershwin-esque sound lives on in all jazz players ;)

[yragntman]

This Portrait from the later stage of his career was when Monk was really going back to his stride roots. A true giant and innovator. Monk was the American Mozart. His work will last as long or longer. It is truly unfortunate that he had so much resistance and so many unnecessary hurdles put in his path. It boggles the mind how much more he might have produced.

[Rigerdaby]

Duke Ellington was more the American Mozart, Monk is a different dimension.

[Toojdwin]

Is it just me, or does Monk like to hum along with his playing?

[yragntman]

@Toojdwin - Many pianists "sing" along when improvising. In fact, it is usually a sign that they are really into a groove.

[franzjoseph88]

Wow!

[davis21wylie]

Thelonious, the greatest genius of them all... A 5-star performance if there ever was one.

[DajaWaja]

Monkify that standard!!!

[Doumbeck]

MONK est originel et il joue avec bcp d"ame. Il est superbe!

[fedlech]

Yeah!