Les liaisons dangereuses thelonious monk

#LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES THELONIOUS MONK MOVIE#

ItвЂ™s a little pricy вЂ“ retailing for about 65 Euros or so вЂ“ but itвЂ™s likely to be the most interesting release for Thelonious MonkвЂ™s centenary. And if the photos can be believed, while wearing an interesting hat/suit combo.ДЄs a whole, itвЂ™s a fascinating package: thereвЂ™s lengthy essays and lots of photos, and the packagingвЂ™s attractive.

But he came around and recorded this album on a Monday in July.

Stories about his eccentricities abound, not to mention his run-ins with the law вЂ“ and there was tension during these sessions. Thelonious Monk was never an easy person to work with. But then again, the backstory here might have something to do with it.

They werenвЂ™t rediscovered until fairly recently, actually. And despite many, many re-releases of Monk records вЂ“ not to mention enough box sets to fill a shelf or two вЂ“ these sessions werenвЂ™t in circulation.

#LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES THELONIOUS MONK MOVIE#

ItвЂ™s hard to see why these tapes went unreleased for nearly 60 years the actual soundtrack to this movie only featured material by Art BlakeyвЂ™s group. ItвЂ™s fascinating to hear them talking and working out вЂњLight Blue,вЂќ and MonkвЂ™s playing here is on point, especially compared to some of his later albums on Columbia. Although itвЂ™s not going to make you forget about anything from his Riverside period, itвЂ™s a compelling and interesting listen. ThereвЂ™s two alternate takes, two masters for a 45 Single and two unedited session reels: a longer version of вЂњWell You NeednвЂ™tвЂќ and a fly-on-the-wall version of вЂњLight BlueвЂќ where you can hear the band working out the song live in the studio. The second disc is largely devoted to gathering up odd ends. Equally compelling are the two versions of вЂњPannonica,вЂќ each of which have a similar hazy mood, yet are distinct вЂ“ and come apart with crashing chords, then back together with a finely tunes phrase or two. ItвЂ™s most effective when he pauses, juts and moves on to another phrase, leaving the past behind in a flash. His solo reading of вЂњSix In One,вЂќ stutters and stops, lurching from phrase to phrase and sounding almost equally unresolved, angry and introspective. But by and large, itвЂ™s Thelonious MonkвЂ™s show, as any of his sessions are. Meanwhile, the rhythm section is on itвЂ™s game, especially on the swaggering вЂњLight Blue,вЂќ which stops and lurches forward, propelling MonkвЂ™s piano along like a conveyer belt. On вЂњWell You NeednвЂ™t,вЂќ the sax solo leaps out of the rhythm section with an urgent quality, while on вЂњRhythm-A-Ning,вЂќ it gives the music a pulsing, nervous edge. WilenвЂ™s something of a wild card: he played with Davis on Ascenseur, and would soon after spent some time in Art BlakeyвЂ™s band, but largely this French player is overlooked the Penguin Guide to Jazz only has less than half a dozen of his records, all on small labels.Д«ut here, the two players give MonkвЂ™s band a boost, a sort of duelling voices. For this 1959 session, Thelonious Monk brought in his working band, essentially the same one from 5 By Monk By 5: Charlie Rouse (saxophone), Sam Jones (bass) and Art Taylor (drums), with the addition of Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone. In performance, Monk took apart and rearranged his own material, but was not a solo improviser of the Keith Jarrett/Chick Corea school. Whereas DavisвЂ™ approach was minimal вЂ“ a few sketched chords and improvisations based around a screening of the film вЂ“ Monk brought a singular approach to finished compositions. With Thelonious Monk, Les Liaisons DangereusesвЂ director Roger Vadim was getting a musical genius and one of the most interesting figures in jazz, but one of a very different sort from Davis. This mostly improvised album is often seen as a forerunner not only for Kind of Blue, but for the next decade of DavisвЂ™ music itвЂ™s an overlooked gem on itвЂ™s own. Not too long before, Miles Davis was called upon for the soundtrack to Ascenseur pour lвЂ™Г©chafaud вЂ“ aka Elevator to the Gallows В- by French New Wave director Louis Malle, giving the movie a heightened sense of tension and emotion. In 1959, Thelonious Monk went into the studio to attempt something heвЂ™d never done before and would never do again: record a soundtrack for the French thriller Les Liaisons Dangereuses.ДЄn inspired idea, certainly, but one with some precedent.

Les liaisons dangereuses thelonious monk