The discoveries of unheard performances and unreleased albums have buoyed the jazz landscape in recent years. In fact, two years ago this month, this writer posted a review of MONK, an unissued release of a Thelonious Monk 1963 concert in Copenhagen on the Gearbox label. This past July we brought you Just Coolin’, a 1959 unreleased studio album from Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Several more unissued releases will hit before year-end but now we bring you the Thelonious Monk Quartet’s Palo Alto, an unheard performance from 1968 at a high school in that city of the same name. This one has already created quite a buzz with the original release date pushed back. With it comes quite a story.
In the fall of 1968, a sixteen-year-old high school student, Danny Scher had a dream to invite the legendary pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and his quartet to perform at his school. In a series of surprising events, and against a backdrop of racial tension and political unrest (sound familiar?) the concert happened and was recorded by the school’s janitor, somehow producing remarkable sound clarity for this issue. Scher, a jazz fan and natural budding concert promoter who later went on to work with Bill Graham, was too young at the time to attend Monk’s three-week run at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. Yet, he had the gumption to call Monk directly and ask him to perform at his school.
On October 27, 1968, two years after he had appeared on the cover of TIME magazine, Monk and his quartet – Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Larry Gales (bass), and Ben Riley (drums) – climbed out of the Scher family van, walking past a parking lot full of surprised Palo Alto and East Palo Alto residents, into Palo Alto’s High School’s auditorium and delivered a sparkling, energetic 47-minute set captured here. The tape sat in the attic of the Scher’s family home for years until Scher contacted Monk’s son, T.S. Monk, to release it, choosing the iconic Impulse! label, (the house that Coltrane built) partly due to Monk’s relationship with Trane. Forty years after Monk’s passing, we are fortunate to hear one of his best live recordings (more on that later). Palo Alto is the first of multiple planned joint releases over the next five years from Impulse! Records in conjunction with the Monk estate’s Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment led by T. S. Monk. (www.thelonious-monnk.Ink.to/home)
These six selections were touring repertoire consisting of Monk’s biggest tunes. Included is Monk’s lyrical love song “Ruby, My Dear” with monster solos from Rouse and Monk, and the dynamic “Well, You Needn’t” a 13-minute excursion featuring solos from each quartet member. Monk goes solo, performing beautifully on Jimmy McHugh’s “Don’t Blame Me” before taking us on an epic dance where Rouse is in top form through “Blue Monk.” More serious listening reveals how strong the rhythm section is with Gales’ stirring bass work and Riley’s ever-inventive beats. The two solo and dialogue here to great effect. The album highlight, one of the most spirited renditions of “Epistrophy” on record follows. The show ends with a truncated encore of Monk slowly striding through the 1925 Tin Pan Alley hit, “I Love You Sweetheart of All My Dreams.” The wildly enthusiastic audience response leaves Monk wishing he could continue but he reluctantly bids goodbye, saying they had to make their San Francisco gig that evening.
T.S. Monk says, “That performance is one of the best live recordings I’ve ever heard by Thelonious. I wasn’t even aware of my dad playing a high school gig, but he and the band were on it. When I first heard the tape, from the first measure I knew my dad was feeling really good.”
Jazz fans certainly know that Monk’s music is timeless. It’s heard today on many releases, including these among probably hundreds this year alone – Chick Corea’s recently issued solo piano opus Plays, saxophonist Teodross Avery’s Harlem Stories: The Music of Thelonious Monk, and pianist/composer John Beasley’s large ensemble MONK’estra Plays John Beasley. As you’ll note in just those three examples, Monk’s music is delivered in any configuration – solo, small combo, or large ensemble. Yet, as good as those are, it’s refreshing to hear from the icon directly, especially with his quartet in such fine form.
Don’t be surprised to see Palo Alto on many “Best Of” jazz lists for 2020. It’s that good!
