How the greats practice.

jjtko75

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Feb 4, 2012, 6:29:18 PM2/4/12

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Chick Corea practicing Bach is all well and good, but in the long run,
I think it's only of passing interest to most jazz musicians. To me,
more intriguing would be the case of the Thelonious Monk practice
tapes.

I recall in an interview Barry Harris saying that he has tapes of Monk
practicing. And also at one point a few years ago I remember seeing
mp3s of Monk practicing for sale, but I can't find them anymore.

They are mentioned here: http://oaklandnorth.net/2009/10/30/thelonious-monk-a-life-rediscovered/

I know a few people who post here studied with Barry Harris. Did he
mention ever this? Does anybody know if these recordings are
available?

John

Alan Kingstone

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Feb 4, 2012, 6:58:55 PM2/4/12

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John: I've heard Barry speak of Monk practicing this way also, over
and over on the same song. Barry too has talked in an animated way of
Bud Powell being called upon by Barry and friends to go hang out and
Bud would be playing a song. Bud would decline the invitation. Barry
would return later to find Bud playing the same song. I think there is
great value in what the masters do and I thank you John for reminding
me of it.

thomas

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Feb 4, 2012, 10:14:38 PM2/4/12

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On Feb 4, 6:29 pm, jjtko75 <jjtk...@gmail.com> wrote:

There are recordings floating around of Clifford Brown, Bill Evans,
and others practicing.

relw...@optimum.net

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Feb 4, 2012, 11:15:39 PM2/4/12

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On Feb 4, 6:29 pm, jjtko75 <jjtk...@gmail.com> wrote:

I was amazed to find out in Monk's biography that he used to practice
playing pieces by Chopin and Beethoven, and could play them quite
well.
He might have seemed crazy about other things, but he was very cagey
about music. "You've got to do something different than what everyone
else is doing" (OSLT).

paul

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Feb 5, 2012, 10:11:51 AM2/5/12

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specifically regarding monk, I really highly recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Thelonious-Monk-Times-American-Original/dp/0684831902

it's got a lot of awesome insight into monk's life and answered a lot
of questions for me, particularly about why he stopped playing music.
it talks a lot about his practicing and how he balanced that with
being a father, etc.

only tagentially related to this thread, but I wanted to mention it as
it's one of the best jazz books I've read recently.

--paul

joel fass

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Feb 5, 2012, 3:18:01 PM2/5/12

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On Feb 4, 6:29 pm, jjtko75 <jjtk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Monk played one tune for hours. He also played a lot of ping Pong with
Barry. Weird, I was at Nica's and in Monk's room about a year after he
died. It looked like the room was untouched--like a shrine. A lot of
those famous hats were piled on a corner night table.

This was confirmed by my friend's sister, a nurse who had Monk as a
patient after he had a manic episode. On his birthday he played Happy
Birthday all day. She also told me "I knew Thelonious was getting
better when (breaking his silence) he looked at me and said 'you've
got the craziest eyes'".

joel fass

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Feb 5, 2012, 3:23:14 PM2/5/12

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On Feb 5, 10:11 am, paul <pcsanw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> specifically regarding monk, I really highly recommend this book:http://www.amazon.com/Thelonious-Monk-Times-American-Original/dp/0684...

>
> it's got a lot of awesome insight into monk's life and answered a lot
> of questions for me, particularly about why he stopped playing music.
> it talks a lot about his practicing and how he balanced that with
> being a father, etc.
>
> only tagentially related to this thread, but I wanted to mention it as
> it's one of the best jazz books I've read recently.
>
> --paul

I agree. I think it's one of the finest biographies of a jazz musician
ever. The DVD about Nica produced by her niece should be seen in
conjunction (can't recall the name, but it can be googled). It covers
a lot of the same material re Nica's relationship with Monk. Last
year's biography "The Jazz Baroness" is also not bad---but not really
good either. Get the Monk book. It's out in paperback and cheap.

eric s

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Feb 5, 2012, 9:13:08 PM2/5/12

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The Kelly book is great, and for xmas I got a wonderful Pannonica book
called Three Wishes, in which P asks about 50 musicians what they
would ask for if they had three wishes. lots of great candid
snapshots that she took. Monks last years are among the saddest
things I ever heard. THere are tons of pictures of the the "cat house"
pannonicas place in NJ in Three Wishes.

joel fass

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Feb 6, 2012, 6:51:10 PM2/6/12

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Monks last years are among the saddest
> things I ever heard. THere are tons of pictures of the the "cat house"
> pannonicas place in NJ in Three Wishes.

I wouldn't assume that. He was well-cared for and loved. He played a
lot of ping pong and was among friends.

The real issue IMO: it's hard to look your best on Thorazine. Winding
up in the belly of the pharmapsychology (sp?) beast is one of the
cruelest fates for a creative person. I'm not saying that mental
illness should be taken lightly, but those drugs are dastardly--and
the scripts usually written by people who are clueless at anything but
controlling symptoms (read: making 'difficult' people easy to handle).
It's a sickening racket, a nice living for people trying to pay off
med school, but it not only didn't help people like Monk or Bud (shock
treatments in his case) it undoubtedly hurt.

TD

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Feb 6, 2012, 8:31:49 PM2/6/12

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A crapshoot that uses "statistics" as both modus operandi and
justification. They can kiss my ass.

-TD

Gerry

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Feb 8, 2012, 10:57:11 AM2/8/12

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While the topic morphs to books, I should mention that your book on
Barry Harris' Method is one of very few books I keep coming back to in
recent years:

The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar
http://tinyurl.com/7w6rfmv
--
There will be no economic recovery without addressing taxes:
http://tinyurl.com/76pqm4q

Alan Kingstone

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Feb 9, 2012, 9:39:08 PM2/9/12

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Gerry: I'm pleased to hear you continue to find value in our book.
Barry has been very supportive through the years and I'm glad to have
interpreted some of his harmonic ideas from piano to guitar. Thanks
for your comments, it means a lot.

Alan

Gerry

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Feb 10, 2012, 12:55:25 PM2/10/12

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On 2012-02-10 02:39:08 +0000, Alan Kingstone said:

>> While the topic morphs to books, I should mention that your book on
>> Barry Harris' Method is one of very few books I keep coming back to in
>> recent years:
>>
>> The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar
>> http://tinyurl.com/7w6rfmv
>

> Gerry: I'm pleased to hear you continue to find value in our book.
> Barry has been very supportive through the years and I'm glad to have
> interpreted some of his harmonic ideas from piano to guitar. Thanks
> for your comments, it means a lot.

It's funny how one encounters these things, especially now that sheet
music shops have become rarities. Scott Krohn spoke very highly of the
book and so I bought it sight unseen. That's seems the only way these
things seem to get around anymore.