THELONIOUS MONK AT 100 #3 - Monk At Town Hall 1959
with Charles Tolliver
Cadogan Hall; Sunday 19th November 2017
with Charles Tolliver
Cadogan Hall; Sunday 19th November 2017
We’re approaching the end of this year’s EFG London Jazzfest, and the end of today’s epic Monk-a-thon here at the quietly well-heeled Cadogan Hall. After working through almost the entire repertoire of Monk originals since 2pm today, you might expect pianist Jonathan Gee to look at little jaded, but his solo excursion through ‘In Walked Bud’ sounds as fresh and energetic as if he’d only just begun. He’s joined by loose-limbed drummer Rod Youngs and imperturbably swinging bassist Ben Hazleton for ‘Blue Monk’, further augmented by hip, smooth-toned Ed Jones on tenor for ‘Rhythm-a-Ning’, and then the main event commences as a further seven musicians take to the stage, headed by the suitably beret-clad Charles Tolliver. It’s a re-creation of Monk’s legendary 1959 Town Hall concert, the lost Hall Overton charts painstakingly re-transcribed by Tolliver, who attended the original gig as a teen. ‘Mysterioso’ is enlivened by a backbeat from Youngs and a solo from Gee that preserves some of the creator’s angularity without resorting to direct quotes, and a brief, full-toned statement from Tolliver himself, reminding us how unique his trumpet voice is, and how too seldom it is heard. ‘Friday the 13th’ is handed to Jason Yarde - entering with a quote from ‘Surrey With A Fringe On Top’ he proceeds to lay out a series of explosive Dolphyisms that suit the music to a T. The ensemble, warming to their task, capture some of the raw modernistic swagger of the original. ‘Monk’s Mood’ has a great intro from the indefatigable Gee; throughout he rises to the daunting task of filling the great man’s shoes, maintaining his own, smoother and more contemporary voicings and preserving the spirit rather than the letter; then Dennis Rollins plays a beautifully mellifluous lead over a hushed bed of low-end brass and reeds. ‘Off Minor’ brings back the raucous energy, with the added bonus of solos from tuba and french horn. Tony Kofi, who co-masterminded the project with Gee, is grinning form ear to ear from his baritone chair in the back row, and his own solo on the low-end horn lifts the whole ensemble with it’s strident urgency. On ‘Crepuscule With Nellie’ the band’s command of dynamics really brings out the strength and beauty of the arrangement, but the showstopper, now as back in the day, is ‘Little Rootie Tootie’ with a full orchestration of Monk’s solo played with joyful abandon and another storming Kofi solo. Tolliver gets a big, battling sound from his cohort, worthy of a far larger ensemble, and drives the band hard, punching out the accents. There’s still time for an original work-out on the fiendishly difficult ‘Brilliant Corners’ , with inspired solos from Yarde, Jones, and Tolliver himself. As he says, in soft-spoken tribute to the band, ‘They really played this music”, and there’s no doubt that they really did.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
