ANDRÉS VIAL- Plays Thelonious Monk: Sphereology Volume One
Chromatic Audio Recorded
Andrés Vial: piano; Peter Berestein: guitar; Martin Heslop: bass; Andre White: drums; Dezron Douglas: bass; Rodney Green: drums.
Recorded Montreal, New York
Theolonius ‘Sphere’ Monk was born in 1917, so a celebration of his centenary has been both opportune and essential in the past couple of years. The difficulty of such a celebration is finding a way of recognising the ways in which Monk shaped modern jazz phrasing and chord structures, while making sure that you don’t simply produce ‘cover versions’ of his tunes. Several artists have attempted homages over the past year or so, but few have concentrated so deeply and exclusively on his phrasing as Andres Vial. This is not to say that he has echoed Monk; rather he has his own way of making the piano talk, but does so in a dialect that Monk would appreciate and too which Monk would reply. As Vial says in the liner notes, “Monk tunes are already perfect. It’s impossible to separate the melody from the rhythmic concept and chord voicings in each composition. Of course you don’t only want to play Monk voicings the whole time; you have to find your own way to play the tune.” What this means is that interpreting Monk is not copying Monk, but a much richer hermeneutic process. Vial says, “I see it as a two-step process. One, go as deeply as you can into Monk’s music, and two, figure out what you’re going to do to bring your own voice to it. That’s what the Sphereology project is really about.”
What I like is that about Volume One of this project, is that way that Vial has selected some tunes that are fairly obscure (with the exception of ‘Green chimneys’ and ‘Ask me now’), which the quartet interpret in a way that sounds fresh. I also appreciate the way that Berestein has been given free rein to develop licks that are both ‘Monkish’ and ‘boppish’, which gives a sense of how Monk began and how his music developed. What is so intriguing about this recording is that the combination of piano and guitar seem to reveal a fundamental logic to Monk’s playing that (to my ear) had been somewhat obscured by the addition of horns. Below this piano and guitar, the combinations of bass and drums (depending on the recording date) not only provide solid time-keeping but also totally get the off-kilter rhythms of Monk’s compositions. So, even when you have a piece that Monk played solo, such as ‘Bluehawk’, track 1, the quartet render this in a way that is completely coherent. This CD sent me back to some of my Monk vinyl – and I mean that as a compliment, because the way the quartets play here both answer and pose questions about how Monk’s music works. I have to say, that many of the answers that Vial has found in his playing make absolute sense to me, and I look forward to subsequent volumes of this series.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Chromatic Audio Recorded
Andrés Vial: piano; Peter Berestein: guitar; Martin Heslop: bass; Andre White: drums; Dezron Douglas: bass; Rodney Green: drums.
Recorded Montreal, New York
Theolonius ‘Sphere’ Monk was born in 1917, so a celebration of his centenary has been both opportune and essential in the past couple of years. The difficulty of such a celebration is finding a way of recognising the ways in which Monk shaped modern jazz phrasing and chord structures, while making sure that you don’t simply produce ‘cover versions’ of his tunes. Several artists have attempted homages over the past year or so, but few have concentrated so deeply and exclusively on his phrasing as Andres Vial. This is not to say that he has echoed Monk; rather he has his own way of making the piano talk, but does so in a dialect that Monk would appreciate and too which Monk would reply. As Vial says in the liner notes, “Monk tunes are already perfect. It’s impossible to separate the melody from the rhythmic concept and chord voicings in each composition. Of course you don’t only want to play Monk voicings the whole time; you have to find your own way to play the tune.” What this means is that interpreting Monk is not copying Monk, but a much richer hermeneutic process. Vial says, “I see it as a two-step process. One, go as deeply as you can into Monk’s music, and two, figure out what you’re going to do to bring your own voice to it. That’s what the Sphereology project is really about.”
What I like is that about Volume One of this project, is that way that Vial has selected some tunes that are fairly obscure (with the exception of ‘Green chimneys’ and ‘Ask me now’), which the quartet interpret in a way that sounds fresh. I also appreciate the way that Berestein has been given free rein to develop licks that are both ‘Monkish’ and ‘boppish’, which gives a sense of how Monk began and how his music developed. What is so intriguing about this recording is that the combination of piano and guitar seem to reveal a fundamental logic to Monk’s playing that (to my ear) had been somewhat obscured by the addition of horns. Below this piano and guitar, the combinations of bass and drums (depending on the recording date) not only provide solid time-keeping but also totally get the off-kilter rhythms of Monk’s compositions. So, even when you have a piece that Monk played solo, such as ‘Bluehawk’, track 1, the quartet render this in a way that is completely coherent. This CD sent me back to some of my Monk vinyl – and I mean that as a compliment, because the way the quartets play here both answer and pose questions about how Monk’s music works. I have to say, that many of the answers that Vial has found in his playing make absolute sense to me, and I look forward to subsequent volumes of this series.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
