Some words about Thelonious Monk (Orrin Keepnews + Charlie Rouse)

Charlie Rouse, Epistrophy

Landmark (Orrin Keepnews)

The Last Concert

Recorded in San Francisco

Thelonious Monk Birthday Tribute

1988 Jazz In The City Festival

Personnel:

Charlie Rouse tenor sax

Don Cherry trumpet

Buddy Montgomery vibes

George Cables piano

Jessica Williams piano

Jeff Chambers bass

Ralph Penland drums

"The last time Charlie Rouse picked up his tenor in public was as the special guest at a concert honoring Thelonious Monk's birthday. The program, naturally enough, consisted of Monk compositions, selected by Rouse and the other performers, with some help from me. In particular, I suggested that Rouse be joined by Cables, Cherry and Montgomery (each of whom, along with Jessica Williams, had had an individual feature spot earlier in the evening) for a two-tune finale. 'Round Midnight was an inevitable part of the repertoire; and what more suitable way to close than with a full-long version of Epistrophy.

Thus, the very last piece Charlie played for an audience was the one he had played repeatedly and almost nightly for more than a decade as the sign-off theme for Monk's quartet.

It's a set of circumstances far too contrived and sentimental to be acceptable in fiction, but that is how it really happened. Seven weeks later on November 30, Rouse succumbed in a Seattle hospital to the lung cancer few people even knew he had. That private ending was the way Charlie and his wife, Mary Ellen, preferred to accept the inevitable. It was pretty much the way Rouse lived his life: quiet, with dignity, and a lot less aggressively than many people thought he should have.

He was one of those who let his playing speak to the world for him, and it did so quite eloquently. But Rouse was rarely out in front on a band stand, and so his abilities were for the most part appreciated only by fellow musicians, and by listeners and writers with taste and understanding—which is a relatively small audience, though a satisfying one. It does not put him down at all to characterize Rouse as a sideman, particularly when you can point to eleven years as the perfect colleague for Thelonious—a man not at all noted for patience or for accepting the status quo. You didn't remain with this pianist just because he wasn't up to making a change; quite the opposite, he knew how well his music was being grasped and interpreted all those years...

Orrin Keepnews + Charlie Rouse share some words about Monk

 

I last saw and heard Rouse on Monk's birthday in 1988... He was playing extremely well that night. There were no readily visible or audible clues to his illness—except possibly in his willingness to talk with me about Monk in front of the audience. Being that extroverted was not at all characteristic, so I'm particularly glad we have those incisive first-hand comments..."

— Orrin Keepnews (1923-2015), excerpt from Epistrophy Liner Notes

Study In Liner Notes: Thelonious Monk

"...Clearly, Monk had made the big time. Just as clearly, he had done it on his own terms, without the slightest hint of compromise. Monk's ascent from obscurity to celebrity was living proof of the wisdom of his philosophy, expressed in a famous 1959 interview with writer Grover Sales:

'I say, play your own way. Don't play what the public want – you play what you want and let the public pick up on what you (sic) doing – even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years...'

...this album is suffused with as much freshness and vitality as anything Monk ever recorded. Monk was too single-minded and too dedicated to allow negative circumstances to affect his music adversely – some of his most exhilarating recordings were made when his career was at a low ebb – but it's understandable that his playing on 'Monk's Dream' would reflect the dramatic upturn his career was taking. Monk was in a good mood when he laid down these sides, no doubt about it – and the sound of Thelonious Monk in a good mood is among the happiest sounds in all music."

— Peter Keepnews (excerpt from Liner Notes, 'Monk's Dream')

Monk turns 97 on Friday! We're celebrating all week, capped by pianist Eric Reed's (sold out) 2-night Monk Tribute starting Thursday, which also marks the return of the SFJAZZ Hotplate Series, every 2nd Thursday throughout the 2014-15 Season! Read Keepnews' full liner notes.

At The Center ~ Bill Frisell Clinic & Solo Guitar

Bill Frisell recently conducted a clinic with the award-winning SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, amid his final residency week as an 2013-14 SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director. Watch as he performs an impromptu solo guitar rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Crepuscule with Nellie," and speak to his experience working with the All-Stars, as well as the value of just one song.

For more information on SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Directors, visit sfjazz.org. Follow the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars. For more videos, subscribe today to the SFJAZZ YouTube Channel!

PHOTO: Mary Stallings & Kenny Barron at SFJAZZ Center

Last night, Mary Stallings appeared alongside NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron to a sold out Miner Auditorium. The performance marked the first time the beloved San Francisco native took the stage at the SFJAZZ Center since its Grand Opening nearly one year ago (the Center celebrates it's first birthday on January 21st!).

The two jazz giants ran down classics such as "Yesterdays" and Billie Holiday's "Me, Myself and I." Kenny Barron also embarked on a solo segment including Eubie Blake's "Memories of You" and Thelonious Monk's "Shuffle Boil." Barron chuckled as he recalled something Eubie Blake, well in his 90s, told him years ago:

"If I'd known I'd live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."

Below are a few photos, courtesy of Scott Chernis. Mary Stallings performs at the Center again tonight with pianist and past collaborator Eric Reed!

For more info on Mary Stallings, visit sfjazz.org. Check out more photos on SFJAZZ Flickr.