Hat & Beard: The Music Of Thelonious Monk
Jazz
| Apr 2012
Reviews
Fo
Reviewed 2012-04-20
Reviewed 2012-04-20
KEN ALDCROFT & DAVE CLARK: Hat & Beard
Trio, 2011
AVANT-MODERN JAZZ – Eight Thelonious Monk tunes get a very quirky duo treatment: just guitar and drums! The playing is really loose and fun, with Clark grunt-scatting along with his thumping rhythms as Aldcroft jerks and noodles around the edges of Monk’s catchy/bizarro melodies. You can also hear them making decisions and prompting each other as they play (this sounds a lot like a Wednesday Night Live recording, actually). They’re having a great time and so will you. Play!
All tracks cool. Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7
1. 5:38 – light, playful guitar trips over big rolling bass-drum groove
2. 6:12 – starts quiet & delicate, guitar flirts with atonality, drums come in later
3. 5:41 – tap-dance rhythm, happy tune gets frantic in the middle
4. 6:58 – soft, scattered intro/ending; an easy stroll turns vigorous, then wacky
5. 4:30 – upbeat spiky groove: gets big and splashy, nearly runs off the rails
6. 3:56 – easygoing strut: a straightforward start but soon turns truly weird
7. 6:39 – medium tempo chugs along, moments of surf-rock and dissonance
8. 4:03 – silly studio chatter into pounding broken riffs, more chatter at end
[ Fo ] - April 2012
Trio, 2011
AVANT-MODERN JAZZ – Eight Thelonious Monk tunes get a very quirky duo treatment: just guitar and drums! The playing is really loose and fun, with Clark grunt-scatting along with his thumping rhythms as Aldcroft jerks and noodles around the edges of Monk’s catchy/bizarro melodies. You can also hear them making decisions and prompting each other as they play (this sounds a lot like a Wednesday Night Live recording, actually). They’re having a great time and so will you. Play!
All tracks cool. Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7
1. 5:38 – light, playful guitar trips over big rolling bass-drum groove
2. 6:12 – starts quiet & delicate, guitar flirts with atonality, drums come in later
3. 5:41 – tap-dance rhythm, happy tune gets frantic in the middle
4. 6:58 – soft, scattered intro/ending; an easy stroll turns vigorous, then wacky
5. 4:30 – upbeat spiky groove: gets big and splashy, nearly runs off the rails
6. 3:56 – easygoing strut: a straightforward start but soon turns truly weird
7. 6:39 – medium tempo chugs along, moments of surf-rock and dissonance
8. 4:03 – silly studio chatter into pounding broken riffs, more chatter at end
[ Fo ] - April 2012
Recent airplay
Green Chimneys
No Cover, No Minimum — Oct 11, 2018
52nd Street Theme
No Cover, No Minimum — Nov 09, 2017
Bye Ya
Rebop — Jun 05, 2012
Bye Ya
Rebop — May 22, 2012
Bye Ya
Rebop — May 15, 2012
52nd Street Theme
No Longer at Ease — May 14, 2012
Charting
2012-04-21 — 2012-06-24
Jazz
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Jun 10 | 1 |
| May 27 | 1 |
| May 20 | 2 |
| May 13 | 3 |
| Apr 29 | 3 |
Track listing
| 1. | 52nd Street Theme | ||
| 2. | Locomotive | ||
| 3. | Green Chimneys | ||
| 4. | Nutty | ||
| 5. | I Mean You | ||
| 6. | We See | ||
| 7. | Bye Ya | ||
| 8. | Little Rootie Tootie |