Tír Na HiFi

Seán wrote:

cybot wrote:Ancient vinyl 1957 :)

GoAwayOutAThat young man, 1957 is not ancient.

Featuring the late, great Bob Brookmeyer, lovely stuff.

mcq wrote:Monk is one of the great musical masters of the 20th century (regardless of genre).  I think his gift was an ability to mix and intermingle the achievements of the past with the music of the present, a gift that the great Charles Mingus also shared.  I sometimes get the impression that the scale of his technical achievements have been consistently underrated.  It is impossible to overstate the significance of his contribution to the music.  His work is demanding on the listener, but profoundly repays close listening.   The rewards are considerable.  This music is, quite simply, inexhaustible, in its cerebral depth and emotional profundity.  It is worth highlighting the fact, even at its most abstract, there is an adherence to the pulse, an underlying coherence and instinctive logic that drives the music.  And, at the very heart of this music lies a very personal charm, warmth and intimacy that is quite rare.

dhyantyke wrote:

mcq wrote:Monk is one of the great musical masters of the 20th century (regardless of genre).  I think his gift was an ability to mix and intermingle the achievements of the past with the music of the present, a gift that the great Charles Mingus also shared.  I sometimes get the impression that the scale of his technical achievements have been consistently underrated.  It is impossible to overstate the significance of his contribution to the music.  His work is demanding on the listener, but profoundly repays close listening.   The rewards are considerable.  This music is, quite simply, inexhaustible, in its cerebral depth and emotional profundity.  It is worth highlighting the fact, even at its most abstract, there is an adherence to the pulse, an underlying coherence and instinctive logic that drives the music.  And, at the very heart of this music lies a very personal charm, warmth and intimacy that is quite rare.

Thanks for that interesting and inspiring overview. I only engaged with Monks music a few years ago having seen an excellent documentary on Sky arts which included some live performance clips. While I'm a relative jazz neophyte, the final two sentences quoted above from your essay capture the immediate appeal I experienced for the music and the 'very personal charm, warmth and intimacy' that comes across in Monk's music. Indeed I can't add anything to your very elegant essay which expresses my own responses better than I could articulate them myself.
I also found his life story compelling and touching particularly his final years.
I look forward to exploring his music further in the light of your various reccommendations.
Thanks again