Thelonious Monk - 1954
There is a recording of ‘Reflections’ on Monk’s 1954 trio recording but the version on the 1959 record ‘Thelonious Alone in San Francisco’ is my favourite. This is a perfect place to study the pieces that make up the “Monk Sound”.
Example 1 is a sketch of the first 8 bars of ‘Reflections’. It’s a great example of a “Cycle Chain” (Link).
Monk mixes fairly long sequences of Cycle of Fifth changes with whole and half step bridges.
He also slips in a ‘sister chord’ (G half dim for Bb minor) and two tritone subs (TT)!
Example 2 covers the eight bar B section, beginning on bar 11. It has some even longer ‘Cycle of Fifths’ chains and a more basic harmonic structure.
Monk has a very distinctive piano style. It always sounds to me like he is showing you how the song goes. He emphasizes and lingers on the parts he likes a lot. This is a great approach for us all to adopt – put the music first. People want to listen to the music; they dont need to hear how great you are.
Try these techniques when practicing ‘Reflections’: (1) Avoid the sustain pedal except for very specific reasons. Listen to how he uses the pedal to hold parts of a chord while other notes fad. (2) Monk loves an exposed minor second. At times he leans right into them; at other time he uses a quickly pulls off one of the notes letting the other note sound. (3) The rhythm is elastic, even when he is in a group setting. He achieves this with forceful and logical phrasing.
Remember, savour the composition and the listener will savour it with you.
Monk uses a VI chord (F) in the first bar It has an exposed tritone (b5 on top) which adds lots of tension. He bridges this with an E chord which moves nicely to the II chord (Bb).
Sometimes he even bridges the Ab to the F with a passing Gb chord.
Tip: when improvising on these changes, just treat the opening as a straight I – VI – II passage. Try improvising over the shell left hand notes in the examples.
