Thelonious Monk At 100 - Three Special Concerts

Thelonious Sphere Monk remains a seminal figure in the evolution of contemporary jazz – a wayward genius and force of nature whose spiky, instantly recognisable piano style and writing refer back to jazz masters like Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington – but whose vision was of a future seen through the prism of a bebop revolution in the 40s where Monk himself played a key role.

Monk is one of the elite jazz composers – pianist Jonathan Gee and saxophonist Tony Kofi are steeped in the maestro’s repertoire, and re-visit a previously landmark Festival project, playing all Monk’s songs in a day, and responding to classic albums and collaborations with Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Gerry Mulligan, with an ensemble packed with British jazz talent.

The icing on the cake is a re-creation of Monk’s milestone 1959 Town Hall concert with music written for a ten-piece band, led by the charismatic trumpeter, arranger and founder of Strata East Records Charles Tolliver, who attended the original concert as a teenager, and who has re-constructed the original music from his treasured, original LP. Tolliver’s restaging responds in breath-taking form the tensions and energies that made the first performance so electric – a combination of individual and group interaction, infused with Monk’s fusion of African-American rhythms, solo virtuosity and orchestral sweep.