Monk's piano part on Miles Davis' The Man I Love

Charles Chen is currently working on classic piano comping; you may have already seen his collaborations on Bud Powell's and Fats Waller's (amazing job!). He contacted me to work on the tunes Monk recorded as a member of Miles Davis' band.

The Man I Love is famous for illustrating just how poorly Monk and Miles got along. Yet, for once, Miles allows Monk to accompany him—even though Monk constrains his playing, simplifying his voicings and rhythmic placement.

During the solo on the first take, Monk paraphrases the theme in a very strange way, eventually falling silent. He snaps back to life when the B section arrives, but one can sense that something odd is going on.

PDF, 13 pages + piano part

Video of first take