TS Monk, son of the great jazz pianist, is visiting South Africa. He spoke to Gwen Ansell
TS MONK is a drummer, but he doesn’t see that as his main skill. “I have a talent for explaining what jazz is about — to anyone. I’m a doorway into jazz.”
Monk, fortysomething son of late legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk, is in South Africa as ambassador for the Monk Institute. With a band of prizewinners from the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, he’ll be gigging, teaching and encouraging South African jazz artists to link in to the competition and the Institute’s network of other jazz activities.
Monk takes the two-sided nature of cultural exchange seriously. “My goal is to integrate with the artists in the country … Too often people in other countries feel that only Americans can play jazz, and their local jazzmen can’t get work or respect. When we work side by side we challenge that — because jazz is an international, multicultural art form.”
That philosophical vision of jazz as open and universal is somewhat at variance with the hierarchical, neo- classical views currently prominent in the United States jazz press. Monk sees the rigid definitions offered there as a reaction to the poor deal jazz has historically received from the music industry.
“Jazz in the US hasn’t had the profound respect it receives elsewhere. Often it has merely been an unwilling amputee — whenever popular music forms are flagging, some reviving concepts are stolen away from jazz. So some musicians have developed a defensive mechanism … by way of barriers. There have been times when that was useful — but it isn’t what the music is about.
“A lot of the people who push that line don’t even play. Jazz musicians are always shedding constraints, pushing out the envelope, reaching for spontaneity. When we improvise, that balance between group and individual embodies the concept of democracy — it’s open, not about exclusion. After all, jazz was born, like gospel music, in the search for freedom. Challenging musical conventions — playing those jailhouse chords — has always been part of that search.”
The hunger for freedom was instilled into Monk by his father. “He told me, when I was very young: I don’t care if you’re a bum — so long as you’re the best bum on the block. Don’t let people relive my life through you.” And, sure enough, Monk moved out of jazz to spend a dozen years producing R&B records. “I came back into jazz because I absolutely adore the music,” he says.
“I didn’t learn the music from my father. All I knew was that daddy played piano. But with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and other musicians moving through our house, I absorbed the philosophy.”
Of those playing with Monk, bassist Nat Reeves backed Jackie McLean at the 1993 Guinness Festival, while drummer Harold Sumney has already been highly praised by critics. And the contest — with past winners ranging from jazz fashion-icon saxophonist Joshua Redman to neo- conservative Lincoln Centre pianist Marcus Roberts — has a record for selecting serious talent from across the board.
TS Monk can be heard at Kippie’s tonight and tomorrow and at the Daveyton Technikon on Sunday. They will also be playing and workshopping in Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. Contact USIS on 838-2231 for details