Monk, Miles and Ellington: Echoing Through the Years

Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis: music icons of the first order, their influence still resonating throughout the jazz world. In the case of Ellington, of course, the echoes have been ringing all year in this 100th anniversary of his birth. And nowhere more powerfully than at Lincoln Center, where Wynton Marsalis is stewarding an expansive array of Ellington celebrations.

So then how did “Marsalis Plays Monk” sneak into the Marsalis record release schedule? Probably to enhance the impact of “Swinging Into the 21st,” a Columbia promotional scheme that showcases the release of no fewer than eight Marsalis CDs this year. The album, after all, was recorded in 1993 and 1994 and, despite its high-quality performances, is only now finding its way into the marketplace. Ironically, although the music is virtually all from Monk, the arrangements and the soloing have the distinct quality of having been poured through an Ellington filter.

Monk’s music is never easy to re-produce, in part because his themes are so idiomatically filled with leaping intervals and unexpected twists and turns, in part because the manner in which his harmonies are voiced is as important as the harmonies themselves. To their credit, Marsalis and his ensemble are implicitly respectful of the unique Monk qualities. That said, however, the music still flows with an Ellington-esque quality, especially via the instrumental textures (the “Monk’s Mood” chart is a good example). And that’s not all bad, since--in its more effective moments--the album makes a strong case for the numerous subtle (but important, and not easily seen) connections between Monk and Ellington. (Columbia is remiss, however, in failing to credit the appropriate arrangers for each of the tracks.)

Joe Temperley’s regular job is serving as the baritone saxophonist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, but he is equally effective on a number of other instruments, adding soprano saxophone and bass clarinet to his arsenal for “Double Duke.” With trombonist Wycliff Gordon, pianist Eric Reed, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Herlin Riley (all associates from the Lincoln Center ensemble), the Scotland-born Temperley steps out of the saxophone section to bring a program of Ellington--as well as Strayhorn, Gershwin and others--to life. His rich, burry sound and hard-swinging vitality suggest a kind of contemporary version of Harry Carney (whom he replaced in the Ellington orchestra after both Carney and Ellington died in 1974, and Ellington’s son Mercer took over).

Temperley’s partnership with Gordon is especially effective, with the trombonist’s witty sense of humor and wild collection of muted sounds (listen to his supercharged solo on “Cottontail”) playing perfectly against Temperley’s virile tone and in-the-pocket rhythmic drive. Their irresistible versions of “Creole Love Call,” “Rain Check” and “Black and Tan Fantasy” are splendid--marvelously alive and vital renderings of timeless music.

It’s always a challenge for a trumpet player to take on the music of Miles Davis--especially one who has obviously been influenced by the legend. So the primary question about “Miles Remembered,” a project in which Mark Isham takes on a set of Davis-associated material (virtually all of it from Davis’ electric period), is whether to expect a simulation or an inspiration.

And the answer is some of the former and a bit more of the latter. Isham’s sound is undeniably straight out of Davis (as Isham himself is quick to admit), and the intensity of the collective ensemble approach in numbers such as “Right Off” (from “Jack Johnson”) and “Black Satin” (from “On the Corner”) blazes with the kind of aural fury that characterized the Davis electric groups. Other tracks--a throwback rendering of “All Blues”--are reminiscent of a softer, gentler Davis. But, to Isham’s credit, the interpretations often transcend the similarities, and in doing so provide a potent reminder of the many still relatively unexplored riches in the later years of the Davis lexicon.

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