I've posted a poll on my Youtube channel, and it seems that many people are interested in Thelonious Monk transcriptions!
He's a musician I've loved for many years, and I've been increasingly interested in the strange piano techniques he has developped. Yes, he plays (rather) ugly arpeggios and scales, but there's more to his playing. He uses very litte pedaling, and has a unique way to allow certain notes of a chord to ring while other are playe staccato for example – you can hear it on my Off Minor transcription, for example – ; or playing two notes at once, and releasing only one finger, as if imitating a bend on a guitar – it's a technique Brad Mehldau uses a lot.
Here is my to-do-list for future transcriptions (in no particuliar order):
- Ruby my Dear, from Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
- Blue Hawk, from Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
- Pannonica, from Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
- Think of One, from Monk (with Sonny Rollins and Frank Foster)
- Body and Soul, from Monk in Italy
- Reflections, from Solo Piano 54
- We See, from Solo Piano 54
I will probably take me a few years to complete this list – I'll probably work on other stuff at the same time… So stay tuned!
(The image is taken from my graphic novel about Martial Solal)