Monk's Dream
Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy has devoted much of his career to the music ofThelonious Monk, with whom he played for a few months in 1960. Shortly after that gig, Lacy teamed with trombonist Roswell Rudd in a quartet devoted exclusively to Monk's music. It's no surprise, then, that this reunion finds the pair once again paying tribute to Monk. Sparked by the quirky interplay between Lacy's spry, angular soprano sax and Rudd's rollicking trombone, this meeting captures the joyful, unfettered sense of exploration that can be missing in overly academic readings of Monk. Lacy and Rudd rear back and let 'er rip, with Lacy tracing brisk, sharply defined lines around the perimeter of the tunes while Rudd huffs, puffs, and wobbles his way along a path closer to the song's charming center. While only two Monk compositions are covered here ("Monk's Dream" and "Pannonica"), Lacy's "The Rent" sounds as if it could have been lifted from the composer's notes whileEllington's "Koko" is given a robust, swinging workout that revels in the nooks and crannies of the piece. Supported by Lacy's longtime rhythm section of Jean-Jacques Avenel (bass) and John Betsch (drums), this is a warm, yet precisely rendered work by two of creative jazz's finest.--S. Duda