AOTW: VA: THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL NOW (SP-6600)

[Captain Bacardi]

Various Artists
THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL NOW - A TRIBUTE TO THELONIOUS MONK
A&M SP-6600

Released 1984
Peaked at #20 on the Jazz Albums chart (1984)

Format: Vinyl/Cassette/CD (Double Album)

Produced by Hal Willner for Deep Creek Productions LTD.

Songs & Musicians:

• 1. Thelonious - :47[list:1559ac2979]Arranged by Bruce Fowler
  Bruce Fowler - Trombones
  Phil Teele - Bass Trombones
  Tom Fowler - Bass
  Chester Thompson - Drums

2. Little Rootie Tootie - 4:04

• Performed by NRBQ and the Whole Wheat Horns
  Al Anderson - Guitar
  Terry Adams - Piano
  Joseph Spampinato - Bass
  Tom Ardolino - Drums
  Donn Adams - Trombone
  Keith Spring - Tenor Saxophone

3. Reflections - 6:20

• Arranged and Performed by
  Steve Khan - Guitars
  Donald Fagen - Synthesizers

4. Blue Monk - 3:30

• Arranged and Performed by Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) - Piano

5. Misterioso - 8:43

• Arranged by Carla Bley
  Performed by The Carla Bley Band with Special Guest
  Johnny Griffin - Tenor Saxophone
  Carla Bley - Organ
  Mike Mantler - Trumpet
  Gary Valente - Trombone
  Vincent Chancey - French Horn
  Bob Stewart - Tuba
  Steve Slagle - Alto and Baritone Saxophones
  Hiram Bullock - Guitar
  Kenny Kirkland - Piano
  Steve Swallow - Bass
  Victor Lewis - Drums
  Manolo Badrena - Percussion, Special Effects
  Hal Willner - The Voice of Death

6. Pannonica - 6:05

• Arranged and Performed by Barry Harris - Tack Piano

7. Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are - 1:53

• Was (Not Was)
  David Was - Flute
  Don Was - Guitar, Synthesizer, Horn Arrangement
  Sheila Jordan - Vocal
  Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet
  Jervonny Collier - Trombone
  David McMurray - Alto Saxophone
  Michael Ward - Tenor Saxophone
  Larry Fratangelo - Percussion
  Sweet Pea Atkinson - Background Vocal
  Harry Bowens - Background Vocal
  Carol Hall - Background Vocal
  Donald Ray Mithcell - Background Vocal

8. Brilliant Corners - 2:26

• Arranged by Mark Bingham
  Mark Bingham - Guitar
  Brenden Harken - Guitar
  John Scofield - Guitar
  Steve Swallow - Bass
  Joey Barron - Drums

9. Ask Me Now - 7:55

• Arranged and Performed by
  Steve Lacy - Soprano Saxophone
  Charlie Rouse - Tenor Saxophone

10. - Monk's Mood - 3:40

• Arranged by Sharon Freeman
  Sharon Freeman - French Horn, Celeste
  featuring special guest
  Willie Ruff - Solo French Horn
  Vincent Chauncey - French Horn
  Bill Warnick - French Horn
  Gregory Williams - French Horn
  Kenneth Barron - Piano
  Buster Williams - Bass
  Victor Lewis - Drums, Percussion

11. Four In One - 3:01

• Arranged and Performed by
  Todd Rundgren - Synthesizers, Keyboards, Guitar, Drum Machines
  Gary Windo - Alto Saxophones

12. Functional - 3:32

• Arranged and Performed by Randy Weston - Piano

13. Evidence - 3:31

• Arranged and Performed by
  Steve Lacy - Soprano Saxophone
  Elvin Jones - Drums

14. Shuffle Boil - 2:58

• Arranged by John Zorn
  John Zorn - Game Calls, Alto Saxophone, Clarinets
  Arto Lindsay - Guitar, Vocal
  Wayne Horvitz - Piano, Organ, Celeste, Electronics
  M. E. Miller - Drums, Timpani

15. In Walked Bud - 6:39

• Performed by Terry Adams and Friends
  Roswell Rudd - Trombone
  Pat Patrick - Alto Saxophone
  Terry Adams - Piano
  John Ore - Bass
  Frankie Dunlop - Drums

16. Criss Cross - 2:31

• Arranged and Performed by Shockabilly
  Eugene Chadbourne - Acoustic and Electric Guitars
  Mark Kramer - Piano, Organ, Bass Guitar, Alto Trombone, Dad's Clocks, Tapes
  David Licht - Drums, Percussion

17. Jackie-ing - 3:22

• Arranged by Mark Bingham
  Mark Bingham - Guitar
  Brenden Harken - Guitar
  John Scofield - Guitar
  Steve Swallow - Bass
  Joey Barron - Drums
  David Buck - Trumpet
  Don Davis - Clarinet
  Mars Williams - Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone
  Ralph Carney - Bass Saxophone, Whistle

18. 'Round Midnight - 6:44

• Arranged by Joe Jackson
  Joe Jackson - Piano
  Sharon Freeman - Conductor
  Jerry Little - Concertmaster
  Melanie Baker - Violin
  Sandra Billingsles - Violin
  Karen Gilbert - Violin
  Cheryl Hong - Violin
  Stan Hunt - Violin
  Crystal Garner - Viola
  Maxine Roach - Viola
  Muneer Abdul Fataah - Cello
  Enrique Orango - Cello
  Lawrence Feldman - Clarinet
  Steve Slagle - Clarinet
  Ken McIntyre - Bass Clarinet
  Bob Cranshaw - Bass
  Buddy Williams - Drums

19. Friday The Thirteenth - 2:45

• Original tracks Arranged and Performed by
  Bobby McFerrin - Vocals
  Bob Dorough - Vocals
  Dave Samuels - Vibes, Marimba, Additional Percussion

20. Work - 3:25

• Chris Spedding - Guitars, Arrangement, Concept
  Peter Frampton - Guitars, Solo
  Marcus Miller - Bass
  Anton Fig - Drums

21. Gallop's Gallop - 2:49

• Arranged and Performed by Steve Lacy - Soprano Saxophone

22. Bye-Ya - 4:56

• Arranged and Performed by
  Steve Slagle - Alto Saxophone
  Dr. John - Piano
  Steve Swallow - Bass
  Ed Blackwell - Drums

23. Bemsha Swing - 3:02

• Arranged and Perfomed by
  Steve Lacy - Soprano Saxophone
  Gil Evans - Electric and Acoustic Pianos

All music composed by Thelonious Monk except "Bemsha Swing", written by Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best, and "'Round Midnight", written by Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams and Bernie Hanighen. [/list:u:1559ac2979]

Recorded and Mixed at Mediasound Studios through Media Max Corporation.
Recording and Mix Engineer: Doug Epstein
Additional Recording:
"Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are" recorded at Sound Suite, Detroit, and Mediasound
"Four In One" recorded at Utopia Studio, Bearsville, N.Y. and Mediasound
"Thelonious" recorded at Village Recorders, Los Angeles
Additional Recording Engineers:
Gary Starr (Village Recorders)
Todd Rundgren (Utopia Studio)
Don Was (Sound Suite)
Assistant Engineers:
Michael Christopher, Mark Cobrin, Fernando Kral, Alexander Haas, Andy Hoffman, Gregg Mann, Steve Rinkoff, Mark Rossi, Harry Spiridakis (Mediasound); Ron Kuhnke (Utopia Studio); Steve "Dr. Ching" King (Sound Suite); Cliff Jones (Village Recorders).

Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York

Design: M&Co. New York
Front Cover Photos: Jim Marshall (hand), Chuck Stewart (eye), Kaz Tsuruta (faces)
Liner notes by Hal Willner, David Amram, Peter Keepnews and Orin Keepnews

This album is dedicated to Boo Boo Monk.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

Hmmmmmm... Here's a lot of Jazz and not even all these guys are Jazz musicians... However, don't dismiss the performance as any sort of "posing" as this bunch of various musicians can sure play...

"Relections" with the clever guitar & synthesizer arrangement by Steve Khan and Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, respectively, Dr. John's "Blue Monk" as a solo piano piece, as well as "Pannonica", another solo piano piece, "Functional" performed by Randy Weston, as well as yet another, this time done on tack piano by Barry Harris, Carla Bley's "Misterioso", the dual-saxophone arrangement, played by Steve Lacy and Charles Rouse on "Ask Me How", as well as Lacy playing again with just drummer Elvin Jones on "Evidence", while Lacy at last contributes a solo saxophone piece, "Gallop's Gallop", while Dr. John resurfaces with a group on "Bye-Ya", and even the Was (Not Was) track, "Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are", and "Friday The Thirteenth" starring the up-and-coming Jazz/Pop vocalist, Bobby McFerrin, predating the gaffes needed for furthering his future career, but adding a good wallop of vocals, singing along with Bob Dorough, while accompanied with just Dave Samuels' feisty vibe-work and percussion, are particular stand-outs...

It would be charitable to mention how the Rock artists present here seem to prefer to stick to their native genres, particularly "Little Rootie Tootie" by NRBQ, Shockabilly's "Criss Cross", and the Todd Rundgren track, "Four-In-One"... However being fans of good ol' Thelonius Monk that they are manage to really pull this off just right, putting aside their regular routines and expressing their true feelings for this talented, departed and so missed musician... Joe Jackson doing " 'Round Midnight" and Chris Spedding's brilliantly arranged and concepted "Work", is yet, more proof of this nod towards what is just plain, but incredible musicianship, featuring Spedding, along with Marcus Miller, Peter Frampton and Anton Fig...

No mistakes here, as both playing and players are all top-notch, while displaying a side of versatility and appearing in top-form, making this a vital product towards Jazzers and Rockers, alike...



Dave

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Thelonious Monk has been a favorite musician and composer of mine for quite some time. He always had an unorthodox way of writing music as well as performing it. He truly did things "outside of the box" as they say today. At the same time I've always found some humor in his music as well. So when this album first came out I wasn't sure how other artists - especially the pop/rock musicians - would treat his music. Fortunately, most of this album works out very well. There's all kinds of goodies here, starting with the Fowler Brothers (former Zappa members) blasting out "Thelonious", Carla Bley's interpretation of "Misterioso" and Dr. John's solo rendition of "Blue Monk". But I found the more interesting stuff was the more unusual, especially the French Horn work of Willie Ruff on "Monk's Mood". Steve Lacy has several appearances, the most notable are his duet with Elvin Jones on "Evidence" and the dueling saxes with Charlie Rouse on "Ask Me Now". There were a couple of bizarre items, such as John Zorn's interpretation of "Shuffle Boil" and Shockabilly's version of "Criss Cross", but other than that this is a very solid tribute to a true jazz legend. My only complaint is the omission of my favorite Monk tune "Well You Needn't". But this is still a solid overview of Monk's music. 4 stars.




Capt. Bacardi

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

How many of these Hal Willner tribute projects are there....I know there's this, Stay Awake (Disney), and the Nino Rota album.....any more?

 

[Mr Bill]

...My 2nd fave: Lost In The Stars: A Tribute to Kurt Weill features some dynamic performances. I really like Stan Ridgweay's take on "The Cannon Song." (Stay Awake -- the Disney tribute -- is still my favorite.)

In order of release, the Willner tributes produced are:
Amarcord Nino Rota (1981) Willner's first tribute album salutes Italian composer Nino Rota, and features interpretation of his music for Federico Fellini films. Features Wynton and Branford Marsalis; Carla Bley; Muhal Richard Abrams; Bill Frisell; Steve Lacy; Jaki Byard; and Deborah Harry.
(These are on A&M: )
That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (1984) features John Zorn, Peter Frampton and others (see AOTW).
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (1985) features Sting, Stan Ridgway, Fowler Brothers, Marianne Faithful, Van Dyke Parks, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden and more...
Stay Awake: Interpretations of Vintage Disney Films (1988) features performances of songs from Walt Disney movies by a large cast of artists including SunRa, Michael Stipe, Ringo Starr, Yma Sumac, NRBQ, Los Lobos, Herb Alpert and Ken Nordine
(Not on A&M: )
Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus (1992) is a tribute to Charles Mingus, featuring instruments designed and built by American composer Harry Partch, on loan from his estate. Performers include Bill Frisell, Vernon Reid, Henry Rollins, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Don Byron, Henry Threadgill, Gary Lucas, Bobby Previte, Robert Quine, Leonard Cohen, Diamanda Galás, Chuck D and Elvis Costello
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (1995) re-creation of or sequel to the previous Weill tribute as a Canadian TV special directed by Larry Weinstein. A CD was issued including performances by Nick Cave and P J Harvey
Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen (2005) another Larry Weinstein TV program. The CD includes performances by Rufus Wainwright, Debbie Harry, David Johansen, Eric Mingus and Sandra Bernhard.
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2006) soundtrack for Lian Lunson's documentary film about Willner's Leonard Cohen tribute event Came So Far For Beauty.
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys (2006) Double CD includes Bono, Van Dyke Parks and others.
The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (2006). Recorded at Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project events in London (1999), Brooklyn (1999) and LA (2001), plus a DVD documentary.

--Mr. Bill

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Very cool to know - thanks for the info.....