Bill Evans Quotes

"I like [Thelonious Monk] a lot. What comes from Monk, some others absorbed it, too. He's such a strong and beautiful individual that imitating him is insulting him, and it's a mistake to do so. You give up your own personality when you imitate him--or anybody else for that matter." - Bill Evans

source: Interview with Jazz Magazine (France), 1965

Ellis Marsalis, T. S. Monk, Kidd Jordan, the Jordan Family honors Monk

New Orleans’ jazz patriarch Kidd Jordan and the Jordan Family of Jazz; Marlon Jordan, considered one of the best trumpeters in the world; older brother Kent Jordan, a highly regarded flutist; Stephanie Jordan, whom critics have placed in the company of Nancy Wilson and Shirley Horn; and Rachel Jordan, an classical violinist and music instructor at Jackson State University performs as featured artists at the “For the Fathers of Jazz” concert in honor of jazz legend Thelonius Monk.

The event takes place at the Progressive Energy Center in Raleigh, NC on Friday, June 18th at 7:00 PM.

The “For the Fathers of Jazz” inaugural concert also features Ellis Marsalis, and T.S. Monk, the son of Thelonious Monk. The patriarchs and their families will be performing original...

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http://www.ejazznews.com/article&sid=11352

Larry Ridley Quotes

"Every individual has to find his own identity. Jazz is a language. Understanding the vocabulary, syntax, everything involved, and putting it all together-that's what jazz musicians have to do. And that's the kind of genius that a person like Thelonious had." - Larry Ridley

Benny Green Quotes

"The first jazz pianist I heard was Thelonious Monk. My father was listening to an album of his called 'Monk's Dream' almost every day from the time I was born." - Benny Green

Sonny Rollins Quotes

"One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music. That was his reason for being alive. Nothing else mattered except music, really." - Sonny Rollins

Max Roach Quotes

"Monk encouraged me to emancipate the drums from their subservient role as timekeepers." - Max Roach

Charles Mingus Quotes

"Thelonius Monk went over to Bird and Bud Powell and said, 'I told you guys to act crazy, but I didn't tell you to fall in love with the act. You're really crazy now.'" - Charles Mingus

Miles Davis Quotes

"Monk was a gentle person, gentle and beautiful, but he was strong as an ox. And if I had ever said something about punching Monk out in front of his face - and I never did - then somebody should have just come and got me and taken me to the madhouse, because Monk could have just picked my little ass up and thrown me through a wall." - Miles Davis

Ray Brown Quotes

"[Thelonious] Monk is a subject in itself. I mean, most piano players in most big bands sit down and they play with the band, you know. But Monk would just sit there like this. And all of a sudden there'd be a pause from all the trumpets and everything and Monk would go 'plink!' like that. And everybody would go 'Yeah!'" - Ray Brown