Both of these men had extremely cool names. John Coltrane
isn't a remarkable name per se, but he had a perfect nickname:
Trane. His solos are like trains: linear chains, some short,
some seemingly endless, starting and stopping or running for
miles on end at breakneck speed. Monk is an ideal last name
for Monk, because it gets at his inwardness, his obsessive
scholarly dedication to a very esoteric set of ideas. (For
the same reason, it would have been a good name for Trane.)
Monk's name is like his music: a terse statement that, when
fully unfolded, presents the most resplendant peculiarity.
Monk's full given name was Thelonious Sphere Monk. I like
my middle name and everything, but how dope would it be if
it was one of the platonic solids? I'd want Dodecahedron.
Ethan Dodecahedron Hein. Solid.
Words describing both Monk and Trane's music: knotty.
Hyperspatial. Thermodynamically
improbable. Complex, but more interesting than complex, because
sometimes simple. Full of surprises, but surprises deployed
according to a pattern, a strong internal logic. Devoted above
all to rhythm, repetitive rhythm, structured
African and Caribbean and black American rhythm. For all
their harmonic adventures, the real depth of both men's music
is in its use of time.
Monk and Trane also shared a commitment to musical truthfulness
and seriousness. Like the
other musicians I admire the most, their work doesn't
possess a trace of artifice or irony. Valerie
Wilmer titled a good book after the vibe you get from
these guys and their musical descendants: As Serious As Your
Life. Which is not to say dour; quite the opposite. Both men
could be wry and even witty. But never sarcastic. Often dark
and dissonant, but never despairing or nihilistic. Too much
white music "sounds like the end of the world",
to borrow a phrase from Sasha
Frere-Jones.
Monk and Trane had a right to be despairing. These two guys
were not, by and large, very happy. They were black men in
Jim Crow America. Monk had some undiagnosed mental health
problems, probably mild (and then not-so-mild) schizophrenia.
Coltrane had a tough childhood and was a lifelong depressive.
Both men self-medicated, in Coltrane's case to great self-destructive
excess. Their economic well-being was tenuous for much of
their lives. And yet, playing or listening attentively to
just about any Monk or Coltrane recording leaves you feeling
happier than you were before you listened. Monk and Coltrane
compositions and solos are highly reliable algorithms to generate
physiological pleasure. Music
is a crucial adaptive tool in our evolutionary toolbox.
It builds morale and helps us form and maintain emotional
bonds. There is no better cure for what ails this particular
modern human's emotions than the music of Monk and Trane.
Some records to check out:
Monk and Trane at Carnegie Hall
Thelonious Monk And John Coltrane
Monk's Music
Lewis
Porter's book John Coltrane: His Life And Music is the first
serious Trane biography, and it's the only Coltrane book you
need concern yourself with. There isn't an equivalent
book for Monk that I can recommend, but there's
a documentary called Straight No Chaser that has some
invaluable concert footage. It's worth buying for the opening
shot alone: over a black title screen, you hear Charlie Rouse
playing a burning tenor solo over just bass and drums. Then
the picture appears, showing that Monk is onstage, but he
isn't playing piano, he's dancing ecstatically. If Monk was
crazy, I don't want to be sane.
© ethan hein 2007 | back
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