The Jazz River—Hitting for the Monk Cycle

In baseball one of the rarest feats is to “hit for the cycle,” that is to have a single, a double, a triple and a home run all in the same game. Even rarer are the 3 players who, in the history of baseball, have done it more than one time. This Sunday, The Jazz River hits for the Monk cycle by presenting a program of all Monk tunes with one, two, three, and four dramatically different versions from Monk’s songbook.

In his lifetime, Thelonious’ music was not widely appreciated. Of course, some loved it, but others just thought it strange and off-putting; so unconventional from what preceded him. Funny how over time opinions and tastes change. Monk’s music has lent itself to an incredibly diverse array of interpreters. The Jazz River is proud present just a few of the very many great and interesting versions from his canon. Tune to hear Japanese koto, Ska-Jazz, Brazilian guitar, Sun Ra’s Arkestra and Bill Holman’s Big Band, and the duo of Gil Evans and Steve Lacy to name a few.

Tune in Sunday, November 15, from 5-6 pm for this special treatment of Monk’s music. Only on KUVO JAZZ.

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