FRINGE PRODUCT GIFT GUIDE: Shopping for musical
inspiration has perhaps never been such an expansive—and also
exhausting—experience, when much of the world’s best available
music is absent from above-ground commercial media sources.
Word-of-mouth from kindred spirits becomes evermore vital to our
emotional survival. Here, then, some gift ideas for fringe-leaning
listener, with restless ears and an open mind. Ben Riley’s
Monk Legacy Septet, Memories of T (Concord)
When it comes to dealing with
Thelonious Monk’s great songbook, drummerBen Riley has a more direct link—and
possibly divine right—than most, having played with Monk for years,
as part of the classic Monk band sound. After Monk’s death, Riley
revisited his old comrade’s tunes in the band Sphere, with Kenny
Barron in the piano seat, and again recently with his fascinating
Monk Legacy Septet—sans piano, and all the more intriguing for it.
Memories of T, besides being one of 2006’s best jazz
albums, is one of the freshest Monk sets in years. The song list
opens with “Let’s Call This” and closes with the common Monk
set-closer “Epistrophy,” and ranges from the standards “Straight,
No Chaser” and “Rhythm-a-ning” to quirky delights like “Brake’s
Sake” and “Green Chimneys.” Trumpeter Don Sickler’s cool
arrangements cleverly divvy up the melodic material between
players, and guitarist Freddie Bryant is a stand-out soloist.
Generally, the project reminds us that Monk is history, in the best
and most renewably inspiring way.
Sonic
Youth, the destroyed room, b sides and rarities
(Geffen)