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Heiner Stadler: Tribute to Bird & Monk

By Nic Jones
June 6, 2011
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Tribute to Bird & Monk is a scintillating blast recorded in 1978, when the battle lines between innovation and the tradition were clearly drawn. In tackling compositions by

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk and

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker, and casting them in a fresh light, arranger Heiner Stadler obviously wasn't shy about playing the provocative agent. Initially it sounds as if he was intent only on realizing music that was as far removed from the source material as possible. However, upon repeated exposure to his recasting, it's clear that his effort and that of the crack band is a combined exercise in alternative realization.

Monk's "Ba-lue-Bolivar Ba-lues-are" comes closest to bridging the gap between tradition and innovation. Such is the nature of Monk's music that the distinction between tradition and innovation is arguably superfluous, and when

Reggie Workman

bass
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Reggie Workman's bowed bass takes up the story he makes the point persuasively. The scrabbling horns are redolent of all things free but the music's progress is the stuff of shared endeavor, with the sharing encompassing the late composer.

George Adams

saxophone, tenor
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">George Adams's relatively straight tenor sax reading of the melody to Parker's "Au Privave" rebukes the notion that free players are incapable of playing straight. Trombonist

George Lewis

trombone
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">George Lewis was working with

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton at the time of this recording, and brings that experience to bear in his solo.

To be sure,

Thad Jones

trumpet
1923 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Thad Jones was the closest link to the tradition in this band, having been in

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie's trumpet section back in the 1950s. Still, his cornet playing on "Misterioso" has the air of

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry about it, and again the collective endeavor comes to full fruition when playing Monk's music. Surprisingly

Warren Smith

drums
b.1934

" data-original-title="" title="">Warren Smith's timpani playing brings shades of quietly realized satire, as opposed to mere bluster. Pianist

Stanley Cowell

piano
1941 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Stanley Cowell applies only his own touch, and there's something admirable in the way he doesn't try to tackle Monk's inimitable spirit head on.

It all makes for something special, not least because the project still results in some extraordinary insights.

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Track Listing

Air Conditioning; Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are; Au Privave; Straight No Chaser; Misterioso; Perhaps.

Personnel

Heiner Stadler

piano

Heiner Stadler: arranger; Thad Jones: cornet (1, 3-5), flugelhorn (6); George Adams: tenor saxophone, flute (6); George Lewis: trombone; Stanley Cowell: piano; Reggie Workman: bass; Lenny White: drums; Cecil Bridgewater: trumpet (2); Warren Smith: timpani (5, 6).

Album information

Title: Tribute to Bird & Monk | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Labor Records

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