Matt
Solo trumpet sounds a bit dicey but Wadada Leo Smith pulls it of beautifully. I noticed the selections are more towards Monk's slower tempo compositions which seemed to be a wise choice for this concept. Three of the compositions are Wadada's own with the rest being Monk's. Having the music stripped to just solo trumpet it is often the fragments of the tunes whilst being played that just drift the melodies in
"Ruby My Dear", "Crepuscule with Nellie", "Round Midnight" and the not often played early comp "Reflections" are outstanding in their interpretation but that is not to say that Wadada's compositions are any less either bringing quite an interesting balance to the album with perhaps "Monk and His Five Point Ring At The Five Spot Cafe" which gives a nudge to Monk's most renowned Live album, "Thelonious in Action" being my pick.
If you know your Monk you should love hearing these masterful echoes provided my Smith's solo trumpet throughout but if you don't grab a copy of "Monk's Music" and "Genius Of Modern Music Volume 1" where the majority of the original compositions performed by Smith on this recording lay and work from there to gain a better grip and understanding to where Wadada is coming from with the concept to this album. Beautiful and different stuff
