Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk

[TheMichaelseymour]

swingin hard .

[zanthemanable]

This is precisely why youtube is amazing! what a fantastic recording!

[lightspeedloser]

Well.... Ice Cube is playing the bass, Common is hitting the keys, and Martin Luther King Jr. is playing the drums.. my life can end whenever.

[pcbvideo]

This is still future...

[bluesborn]

I love watching Monk's foot slip and slide while keeping time.I wonder what Basie was thinking?He looked like he was digging it.

[mrhipsterdoofus]

@bluesborn In the documentary about Monk, 'Straight No Chaser', Monk's assistant said Monk was irritated by the way Basie was looking at him. LOL "Next time he's playing Imma go and look at him."

[bluesborn]

@mrhipsterdoofus great story.I'll have to check out the doc.

[markmarktarmann]

in Bb!!!! okay it's good practice. i'll play it in B, but it's a bit out of tune even there, dammit.

[markmarktarmann]

this is running too fast. no way they're playing it in "B": slow it down to normal please so we can play along!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phanioma]

pure geniality

[djelvis1]

i need those shades!



[Ewerb7]

What a genius he was! Truly awesome.

[thatdude2212]

Drummer looks like MLK Jr. at the very beginning. xD

[Shemoth1]

We were so cool when we were Black. Sadly now we are african americans.

[MrAndrejulian]

is that count basie sitting there?

[Wesmileoften1]

Monk was & always be one of America's musical genius!

[JimiChristopher]

Monk is a legend. His music make me wanna dance.

[AlexBeston]

who's the bassist?



[SuperStudioB]

(4) On the way home, Monk vowed that the next time Basie had a gig in town, he was going to "sit across the piano and stare at him the whole time." (Robin D. G. Kelley, The Life And Times Of An American Original)

[dawellfunk]

@SuperStudioB Thank you for taking your time to write this down! =)

[SuperStudioB]

(3) They gathered around the piano and stared as though they'd been hypnotized, as though it was the first time they'd ever heard anything like that. The director was so impressed by the expressions on their faces that he had Billie and Count and the rest of them stand at the piano when the show went on the air, just so he could televise their reactions while Monk played."

[SuperStudioB]

(2) The music was great, but by the time Thelonious got up from the piano he was seething. The producers sat Count Basie against the piano right across from him, and Monk found it distracting. [Harry, Monk's manager] Colomby recalled: "While Monk was doodling around with the piano during a coffee break, the stagehands, cameramen, and everybody who could hear him wandered over to the piano. Then in came Count Basie and Billie Holiday, and Lester Young--all the stars!

[SuperStudioB]

[...] when it came time to "hit" for the cameras, Thelonious arrived at the Town Theater, aka CBS Studio 58, on 55th Street and Ninth Avenue on time and ready to play. And, as usual, he made a sartorial statement few viewers could forget: He donned a hip plaid jacket, white shirt and tie, a sporty driving cap, bamboo sunglasses, and a pair of Hush Puppies that never stayed still as he pounded out a characteristically angular yet swinging rendition of "Blue Monk."

[mccoubrj]

The announcer looks so confused when they closeup on his face...haha

[BradSD25]

You may use this as a guide:

0 - 0:20 - Introduction by Announcer 0:21 - 1st Chorus, TM is playing the melody AS WRITTEN. It is a 12-bar blues form 0:41 - TM starts his 1st piano solo improvisation over the melody for 12 bars (he is NOT playing the melody as written) 1:01 - TM solos 12 bars 1:22 - TM solos 12 bars 1:43 - TM plays the melody as written for 12 bars 2:04 - TM plays another chorus 2:25 - Ahmed Abdul-Malik solos for 12 bars 2:46 - TM solos for 12 bars 3:06 - Head Out 3:16 - End

[5pop6drop124351]

@BradSD25 i dnt no you but dam sa there is correct uh huuhh

[123must]

What a piano player! Beautiful.

Thanks a lot

[djjjamin]

1:35 gets me every time!

[bruce68]

Whay there is always a bloody and boring speaker before music???

[ydraki]

Perhaps the greatest pianist of all time.

[Txiwen]

el puto count basi ahi, mirandole fijamente a los ojos, eso molestó bastante a monk, ajjaja se mascaba la tension

[osaiufhdgiuhrgiuwe43]

Whats that white boy doing there?

[BassFever74]

I don't think the announcer guy know what he's hearing

[b3l13v3r]

Check the Bamboo shades!! You can't wear no bamboo shades unless you are the Tee-Monk!!!

[denzelsnipes69]

Count Basie looks like he was trying to be a hater.

[themadaboutmusic]

Look who're watching ? A great footage.

[americanina]

f*en fantastic!

[fineyoungspecimen]

Colman Hawkins and that other dude look like they don't know what the fuck he playing....I bet they respected it later

[narufingers]

@fineyoungspecimen good one.

[Celimourt9]

I like libertango 30000 times better than THIS song!

[nikolai841]

@Celimourt9 idiot

[Felipez1987]

la cara del presentador jaja..

[Mnemopode]

Thelonious Monk (p) Ahmed Abdul-Malik (b) Osie Johnson (d)

"The Sound Of Jazz", NYC, December 8, 1957.

You can see Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster among others, listening to Monk while they wait for their turn in this Vintage TV broadcast.

[LHRidley1937]

LHRidley - The first listener shown is Count Basie.

[TheMingusjazz]

Esse sujeito era e é um gênio! / para sempre Thelonious Monk!

[joeyisfunny]

Why does he always look like hes just pounding the shit out of the keys because they surprised him?

[malhashoudega]

I'm in love with monks right foot

[JazzyZenBrotha]

The bassist kind of looks like Ice Cube

[wikiwikiwee1]

@JazzyZenBrotha coming straight out of Compton! crazy motherfucker named ice cube ! a bad ass bassist with attitude!

[atombomb31458]

@JazzyZenBrotha does look like ice cube--maybe its his dad or grandpa

[Scottcreek942]

@JazzyZenBrotha fuck off rapper

[JazzyZenBrotha]

@Scottcreek942 - I'm not a rapper. I'm a Jazz man all the way. You would know that if you look at my page.

[Scottcreek942]

@JazzyZenBrotha I'm telling you to get that dirty comment off this holy jazz video

[Pentaerythrittetrani]

@JazzyZenBrotha sorry man i've got to correct you. Ice Cube looks like the bass player...

[JazzyZenBrotha]

@Pentaerythrittetrani - I agree with you. That is actually a better way of looking at it.

[doko73]

Monk was a cool m.f.

[gorillafishcat]

That's Ahmed Abdul Malik on da bass...

[HOTCOKEORDERS]

MONK told He was so uptight because Basie gazed him.

[pavloszikos]

who's the bassist?

[DUANESKEE]

This type of Jazz takes you to another planet. I'm ready to move right now...

[nickeyparadise]

He's like...Take that Basie!!!

[SwampKing04]

Monk is awesome. Jazz is awesome. The blowjob im getting right now is awesome.

[atombomb31458]

@SwampKing04 hehe--thanks for the laugh--its been a rough weekend

[cavaleer]

I think this is my favorite Monk performance, not composition but performance. Just genius, so far out but so far in the pocket.

[mrrodgers0]

@ByoPhang Well he kinda does sound like a dieing cat, but it's a very beautiful dieing cat. :)

[gorillafishcat]

Basie doesn't look impressed.

[cavaleer]

@gorillafishcat He's trying to hold it in. haha And trying to figure out Monk's structure. It's so against everything he learned and composed. But at the end he had to give up the praise. haha

[wilsondenazare]

@gorillafishcat He is just relaxing...

[dothedanse]

Bad ass!

[thedlhexp]

I think 278 likes and only one dislike is an accomplishment. Every body knows Monk was the shit.

[moshepotts]

Sooooooooooooo coooooooooooooooooooool...than­x....

[cjoey39]

Monk is priceless! I don't know about everyone else but Monk makes me feel so small the wind could blow me away! His talent is at the point that is really unable to be fully understood! Joey Vaughan "World Blues Attack"

[osker07001]

Every Time I watch this it blows my mind. How can a trio swing so well

[jbp27]

unique

[Shyguysays]

was that the count at 2:26?

[Jour0n]

@Shyguysays Yeah

[Odin029]

@Shyguysays I was about to ask the same thing, but yeah that's Count Basie grooving, and I saw Mr. 5x5 himself Jimmy Rushing standing there.

[johnonorgan]

count basie digs it like the rest of us

[bakanbi]

can someone explain to me why the hell count basie was sitting there?

[charold3]

Certainly one of Monk's greatest live spots. For him, earlier is better. (I'd like to see a film of him in the early '50s, when he was at his absolute peak as a composer.)

[ror312gallery19]

the monk is the funk,!!

[kevinherbert]

@ror312gallery19 : I instinctively called this style 'Monk Funk'....within 60 seconds of hearing Monk solo..he's a 'won'-of -a -kind.....go Monk......I can hear Monk's ideas in some of the guitarist Gary Norman's soloing..really clearly.....his NYC recording trio .....nice work GNorman....

[NuggetsHoopster]

what is the name of the bassist?

[Distimok]

the drummer totally gets it

[jacksonkerouac]

Genius at work

[stickkguitar]

faaaaaaaaaaaaantastic !!!

[outlaw36]

Bass player's killin' it!!

[bandreification]

lol at 1:49 the white dude looks so distressed

[jazzman2320]

This track is delicious, i like that Monk is sitting on a folding chair, heh heh.

[aloliver331]

@jazzman2320 Hey! I just posted a comment elsewhere saying "Monk is delicious" He's like seaweed. Once you acquire a taste for it, nothing else satisfies. I've been listening to Tea for Two obsessively lately. monk is obsessed and is an obsession.

[mrhipsterdoofus]

Monk wasn't too pleased with Count Basie staring at him

[cholocharile]

The announcer guy's facial expression after hearing Monk's solo: WTF DUDE MINDFUCK

[derekpillers2]

Great Fighting!  You're An Up & Coming Boxer!

[Freddythemonk]

listen to MONK....!

[pechugamen]

flipante

[baracktimusprime]

this is my favorite version of this song.

he takes the melody in alot of different directions rythmically and harmonically, but in the end its all brilliant!

i only started listening to Monk a few days ago, and i can't get enough

thanks for posting!

[ror312gallery19]

sweet,,,,blue monk,,!!

[TheBrownTies]

lol 1 person disliked. how could you dislike this gem oh man

[LetzBeaFranque]

Somebody has been smoking something.

[iop223]

the white guy doesn't get it.. I wonder what he thinks of today's music ^^

[coltrane106]

i love the white dudes face... like what the fuck

[sincere1]

@coltrane106

LOL!!! his look was CLASSIC!!! (like WTF? is this bullshit?)

this is my first time ever hearing the monk but this stuff is genius! FYE!!!

[coltrane106]

@sincere1 have to love monk

[olivia1407]

his sunglasses look so modern like it wnt through a time machine from today to them!!! x-D

[tyden13]

@olivia1407

they're made of bamboo too!

[biggerturtle]

THE MAN

[bluv6]

Basie may or may not have liked it, although he's clearly amused it's hard to tell what he thinks, and Jimmy Rushing is clearly dismissive. But you can see Coleman Hawkins, who hired Monk early in his career, is hip to what Thelonious is doing and is truly digging this.

[atombomb31458]

@bluv6 -im not sure u can judge what people are thinking just because they arent showing a lot of facial expression.

[nicolelynnK]

Wonderful video of Mr Monk. I would have loved to see him live, but I am a tad too young. I didn't get into jazz until the mid 70's. I was introducted to Mile Bitches Brew performance at the Fillmore West. That was the start of my love affair with this wonderful music.

[Dawnina77]

@nicolelynnK I feel you, I wasn't even born until 1980, but oh how I feel old at soul! I just love old school jazz and blues!

[AeroSoul16]

Classic!

[djalejan]

so cool!!

[MattP6307]

what program is this from?

[TCTSNBN]

There again at 2:45 The Monk delvs into the Rt 66 theme. I don't know if he really wrote "Rt 66" but he sure owned it

[vectortemple]

Great stuff - Monk in his prime - but way ahead of his time - and 50+ years later we haven't yet caught up to him...

[comateensnyc]

LOL...great. Monk had a few screws loose.

[vectortemple]

@comateensnyc "

"sometimes it's to your advantage for people to think you're crazy" - Thelonious Monk

Monk was crazy like a fox...

[gre2g]

I read that Monk was really furious that the Count was sitting there staring at him.

[TedEdFred21]

@gre2g i would be too, i hate people looking at me while i play

[julesmonendrumface]

look the count is boppin on thelonious...

[musicgia]

un piano sumamente juguetón.....vamos monk...q grande!

[sirjuandabicho]

Maravilloso, muchisimas gracias.

[Saxofonisten96]

this is GREAT

[HellaSwanky]

nigga looks like barry white on bass! hell yeah..

[pmathijsp]

1:18 Count Basie ?

[DMCAcankissmyass]

yup. later Monk was pissed and said that when Basie plays, I'm going to go and stare at him.

[Behnsenseb]

@pmathijsp Right! Monk complained afterwards, that he was annoyed because Basie starred at him the whole gig through. Monk was a very special and often complicated typ of character.

[dvpkid]

@Behnsenseb he what i call normal cuse im just a wired. not as talented but defintly wired

[morderic]

@pmathijsp Yes that's Count Basie.

[Nowhereman90]

@pmathijsp indeed. I saw the documentary "Straight No Chaser", and someone tells there Monk was very upset about having this man looking at him while he was playing

[stephencoxbass]

so awesome!!! man, this has to be my favorite version thus far!

[aockid]

i love how the white guy hates it.

[Saxofonisten96]

stfu he likes it

[vectortemple]

@aockid - there were plently of black guys who hated it too and I'm a while guy who's been loving in since 1966 - so leave the race card at home please....

[vectortemple]

@aockid - you're a racist - go learn something about music and history and stop spweing your idiocy and hatred in public.

[erploco]

Nice. I first saw a piece of this from the Beat Generation film The Source. It's great to finally see the whole thing.

[SCREAMer73Emonixx]

who on the drums?

[fronskedeboer]

OC Johnson

[vetmusician]

I call MONK the Shoenburg of Jazz, he plays with Atonality alot, I couldnt get over Epistrophy when I heard it, it takes awhile for the ears and the mind to become adjusted

[JoSred88]

@vetmusician i consider Cecil Taylor to fit the shoenburg style moreso but I see what you mean

[vetmusician]

Havent heard that name for a long time................yeah definetly, he makes monk sound "normal"..........lol. taylor is out there, good point though

[sirjuandabicho]

Maravilloso, muchas gracias.

[petezilla]

This is one of the most swinging things ever.

[andujomaster35]

cool jazz yea..

[EoN604]

Incredible. Monk is brilliant :)

[Danman917]

The piano sounds weird, is it out of tune?

[eventide925]

*sigh*

[dmanios]

this is a great song. my jazz band is playing this song

[jofrad]

Count Basie is smiling because he's trying to hide the fact, that like the presenter and Jimmy Rushing he hasn't got a clue what Monk is doing. The only one who obviously gets it is Coleman Hawkins

[avril2]

Fantastic to watch Basie, Hawk and Co enjoying this wonderful spectacle.

Thanks

[bhagiti]

Uh, that's Count Basie

[Tenebro333]

after a while you realize this is one of the best recordings...

[9mej]

this is his best recording on you tube his piano playing is outstanding

[jmkism]

doesn't even take that long.  but nonetheless--how right you are!

[jmkism]

I love Basie's reaction to the Monk--jazz history at its finest

[Mattytheman91]

haha check count jammin' along at 1:17 then he realises the camera is on him

[SUPERSCREENSAVER]

Blue Monk was first recorded in 1954. It took some time to get recognized.

It is 12 bar blues with the inclusion of chromatic notes at that time and the b9 and the b13.

[FB1801]

One of the worst pianist of the history.  Go listen Bill Evans.

[Whatisthescore]

keep listening to monk man you will see eventually..I didn't like him at first. It's the way his shit constantly changes, its the real deal.

[mixedfan3]

It's funny...Bill Evan worshipped Monk, and many other "superior" pianists did as well. Don't put down one player by using another as an example. Monk was different....had a different style and he wasn't a speed demon. His composing was so unique and special that almost everyone covered his songs or quoted them in their solos including Evans! Evans even wrote the liner notes for the Monk album! Just open your mind and you might "get" Thelonious one day. By the way, I love Bill Evans a lot too!