Originally posted by badmoonGotta love Monk.
Solo Monk. What a genius. Like Fats Waller on acid. To me the most interesting sounding musician of them all.
I recently read an old interview with Steve Lacy who recounted when he worked with Monk in the early 60's. It gives some insight into Monk's methods. When Monk had a new composition for the group to learn, he made them learn it by ear. He would patiently play parts over and over again until they got it. This despite the fact that Monk had the compositions neatly written out. It seems that Monk wanted a certain feel that couldn't be captured with musical notation.
