Thelonious Monk Celebration:

Live Tribute Set from the Samuél Gonzalez Trio & screening of Monk and Monk in Europe

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington.

Monk's compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists, often using flat ninths, flat fifths, unexpected chromatic notes together, low bass notes and stride, and fast whole tone runs, combining a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations.

Monk: In 1968, we had the opportunity to spend time with Thelonious Monk and his musicians, following him in New York, Atlanta, and in various European cities. In New York his quartet plays at the Village Vanguard and at recording sessions for Columbia Records; in Atlanta they appear at a Jazz Festival organized by George Wein. The members of the quartet were Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley. The group was joined on the European tour by Ray Copeland, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Johnny Griffin, traveling as part of George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival road company.

Monk In Europe: Part two of a two-part portrait of the great Jazz composer and pianist. On his European tour his quartet was joined by Ray Copeland, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Johnny Griffin. They traveled as part of George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival road company to London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Mainz, and Rotterdam.

MUSIC at 7:30 PM

FILMS at 8:30 PM