Monk's Music Trio: Monk's Bones

What is it that makes this music relevant and different? For one, the use of the berimbau on "Friday the 13th. The single-string instrument resonates in the Delta blues, Bernstein tapping the feel and then getting the percussive shakers to add to the motif. His playing is inspired, entering a different dimension, and for certain it would make Monk salivate. The tune spins as the trombones come in and churn blues and funk into a dizzying sphere.

The trombones orchestrate a slow motion intro to "Blue Monk. But this, one of Monk's most beautiful and melodic tunes, gets its blues blooding from Perkoff, whose inventive runs sit on the edge of deliberation. Roswell, who has played Monk before with compelling results, uses a wah-wah to growl out his solo, quite contrary to Perkoff's smooth approach. In countenance, the two strike sides that later channel into an edgy, angular and exciting dialogue. The swell breaks out on "Little Rootie Tootie, the trombones trading phrases with the piano, the bass ticking below, the drums driving the pulse. Rudd sounds earthy and in character; Si Perkoff takes off on a melodic excursion, stamping his journey with points of exclamation. The whole makes for one intoxicating ride, like this engaging and heady recording.

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