Teodross Avery plays 'Teo' from Harlem Stories:The Music of Thelonious Monk. Release: 8/21/2020 (C)

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Saxophonist, Teodross Avery, Presents an Intuitive Study into the Music of Thelonious Monk on Harlem Stories: The Music of Thelonious Monk. Due: August 21, 2020 on WJ3 Records
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BAND 1
Teodross Avery- tenor & soprano saxophone
Anthony Wonsey- piano
Corcoran Holt- bass
Willie Jones III- drums
Allakoi "Mic Holdin' Peete- percurssion on 'Ruby, My Dear'
BAND 2
Teodross Avery- tenor & soprano saxophone
D.D. Jackson- piano
Corcoran Holt- bass
Marvin "Bugalu" Smith- drums
WJ3 Records is proud to announce the August 21st release of Harlem Stories: The Music of Thelonious Monk, the new album from soprano and tenor saxophonist Teodross Avery. On his ninth release as a leader, Avery delivers a ten-track collection with the support of two different quartets; the bandleader is joined by pianists Anthony Wonsey and D.D. Jackson, bassist Corcoran Holt, drummers Willie Jones III (president of WJ3 Records) and Marvin “Bugalu” Smith and percussionist Allakoi Peete. Much like his widely-acclaimed 2019 release, After the Rain: A Night for John Coltrane, Harlem Stories: The Music of Thelonious Monk is less a “tribute” to Monk than a deep study of the music - the saxophonist has a proclivity for swimming against the current, for digging deep into musical traditions and excavating raw diamonds rather than shiny objects. To showcase this analysis and interpretation to his best, most innovative ability, Avery not only selected some of the finest musicians of their generation, but he chose artists who understood Monk’s concept of rhythm entirely on their own terms.
Avery’s studies of Monk began long ago: “When I was 15 years old, I used to listen to Monk’s album, Monk’s Dream, with the volume on 10 on my dad’s huge speakers. I began to hear how important the swing rhythm was to Thelonious Monk’s music. It became clear to me that Monk wanted his complex melodies and harmonies to affect the musicians and the listeners alike with non-stop swing rhythms. This was his method. He wanted that swing beat to just permeate the sound while he delivered his unique sound on top.” In 1991, as an eighteen-year-old freshman at the Berklee College of Music, Avery was invited by guitarist Rick Peckham to join the Thelonious Monk Ensemble. “We were playing Monk’s music from all periods of his career,” Avery recalled. “The early Blue Note recordings, The Five Spot recordings with Johnny Griffin and Roy Haynes, and the Prestige sessions with Sonny Rollins.” Avery’s profound understanding of Monk’s music is evident in his choice of repertoire, instrumentation, and bandmates. “I chose songs where melody and rhythm were so damn swinging that all you had to do was count it off and play, namely “Monk’s Dream,” “In Walked Bud,” and “Teo.” Those songs just play themselves.” Avery also chose to feature songs which clearly showcased Monk’s unique rhythmic and melodic personality such as “Boo Boo’s Birthday,” “Trinkle Tinkle,” and “Pannonica.”
Choosing the quartet format for which Monk was known is itself a bold move as it invites comparisons with the iconic bands featuring Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Rouse, and of course, Coltrane. But Avery, one of the most exciting and self-assured players of his generation, raised the stakes by putting together two different quartets: while bassist Corcoran Holt plays on all tunes, tracks 1-5 feature Anthony Wonsey on piano and Willie Jones III on drums, with tracks 6-10 featuring pianist D.D. Jackson and drummer Marvin “Bugalu” Smith. In addition, percussionist Allakoi Peete joins the first band.
The second band brings a more experimental sensibility to the music. Whereas the first band operates almost telepathically, this band feels more conversational, righteously cacophonous, ready to go wherever the dialogue takes them. “In Walked Bud,” Monk’s homage to his friend and mentee Bud Powell, begins with Jackson’s funky, angular, virtuosic introduction, launching the band on a journey in which each measure feels like new territory. On “Ugly Beauty,” Monk’s only composed waltz and “Pannonica,” Monk’s paean for his friend, the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, Avery switches to soprano sax. “Trinkle Tinkle” is not for the faint-hearted. Monk composed it in honor of the great “ticklers” of Harlem stride piano owing to its treacherous melody. His first recording of it in 1952 secured his place in that rarefied circle along with Willie “the Lion” Smith, Thomas “Fats” Waller, and James P. Johnson. However, it was John Coltrane’s mastery of “Trinkle Tinkle” that set the bar so high few musicians were willing to tackle it. No surprise Avery takes up the challenge, matching Coltrane note for note without ever compromising his singular voice. The band closes quite appropriately with “Boo Boo’s Birthday,” written for his daughter Barbara’s fourteenth birthday (she was born September 5, 1953)...