Monk's Birthday Celebration

OCT 7 | Thelonious Monk's Birthday

Oct 07, 2021

Miner Auditorium

PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production

Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.

Original show description below.

This concert will be broadcast on FRI, OCT 8 at 7:30 PM PT as part of Fridays Live, available to all SFJAZZ Members.

Modern jazz’s greatest composer and a pianist with a wry, percussive, instantly recognizable touch, Thelonious Monk wrote at least two dozen tunes that are oft-played jazz standards, and several dozen more that are equally rewarding if less often attempted. A brilliantly diverse cast drawn from jazz’s top pianistic ranks comes together for a celebration of Monk’s 104th birthday, an event that’s a longstanding SFJAZZ tradition.

Diving into Monk’s extraordinary oeuvre are Clark Terry protégé Justin Kauflin, a technically dazzling player with an old soul, and Gerald Clayton, scion of a great jazz family and one of his generation’s most widely heralded players. The SFJAZZ Collective’s Edward Simon, who was born in Venezuela and established as a New York City innovator by his mid-20s, has been a leading force in melding jazz with kindred Latin American idioms. And San Francisco star Tammy L. Hall is equally in demand with her own trio and as an accompanist for the region’s finest jazz vocalists.

With these four inimitable players on the bill, Monk’s legacy couldn’t be in better hands.

A remarkable player, [Simon] seems to understand what our ear wants — blooming harmony, melodic improvisations, firm landings — and how to deliver it.

The New York Times

A remarkable player, [Simon] seems to understand what our ear wants — blooming harmony, melodic improvisations, firm landings — and how to deliver it.

The New York Times

Setlist

Justin Kauflin, solo
"San Francisco Holiday"
"Ask me Now"

Justin Kauflin & Tammy L. Hall, duo
"Trinkle, Trinkle"

Tammy Hall, solo
"Functional"
"Reflections"

Tammy L. Hall & Edward Simon, duo
"Rhythm-A-Ning"

Edward Simon, solo
"Light Blue/Pannonica Medley"
"Monk’s Mood"

Edward Simon & Gerald Clayton, duo
"Monk's Dream"

Gerald Clayton, solo
"Well you Needn’t"
"Ruby My Dear"

Gerald Clayton & Justin Kauflin, duo
"Ugly Beauty"

Everyone
"Straight, No Chaser"

Her playing is warm and persuasive and a listener's delight

Marian McPartland on Tammy L. Hall