STONEY LANE RECORDS 10th January 2024
On his third album, Xhosa Cole plays tribute to Thelonious Monk. Given that Cole plays the sax and Monk played the piano, it was never going to be a slavish imitation and instead of aping Monk’s style, Cole plays tribute to the musical invention of his compositions. Xhosa doesn’t even have a piano in his band – the quartet being sax, guitar, bass and drums – so instead we get the feel of the harmonic playfulness of Thelonious’ ideas. Equally playful, more than half the album features Liberty Styles tap dancing for a rattlingly busy percussion supplement. Not only that, Xhosa tips his hat to Thelonious’ love of Ellington with Heidi Vogel from the Cinematic Orchestra singing the Duke’s ‘Come Sunday’. Recorded live while touring, the set is fun; channelling hard-bop styles of early Blue Note while adding unique touches.
Xhosa Cole’s blowing style is in the classic tradition of the fifties and sixties, easily accessible but full of invention. I can hear why he won so many awards. I remember the impressive debut album too – ‘K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us’. Xhosa’s playing is rhythmic, as befits a man who was strongly influenced by pianists like Monk and Tadd Dameron (featuring one of his compositions on his debut). Xhosa has previously said: “There is no composer like Monk and there is no pianist like Monk. The depth of his groove coupled with his harmonic commitment and integrity makes for one BAD musician! I’ve learned so much trying to prize open his compositions”. Here are nine of his classics, shoehorned into six pieces. Classics like ‘Straight, No Chaser’, ‘Trinkle-Tinkle’ and the perennially-covered ‘Round Midnight’ are interpreted and swung through, the band grooving, the taps tapping and Cole’s sax poking about and stretching the melody just enough before poking into the corners.
Monk had a percussive style, sometimes seeming to attack the piano, other times playing busy runs. As a band leader it made for a unique style but not one another instrument can emulate, so Cole doesn’t try to. Monk brought on a lot of great sax players, such as Coltrane, Jackie McLean and Johnny Griffin, so Cole feels an affinity and debt to the man. What is in no doubt is that Thelonious Monk’s tunes have a whole other life beyond the piano and tunes like ‘Rhythm-a-ning’ reward a blowing horn. ‘Round Midnight’ has always rewarded a good stretching and Cole’s fluttering then flowing approach is pleasing.
Thelonious Monk’s debut was, of course, the much re-issued ‘Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1’ on Blue Note before his move to Riverside and Columbia but that iconic sleeve is recognisable and the inspiration for Xhosa Cole’s album title. At a full seventy minutes-plus, Coles has packed the album with evidence of Monk’s melodic gift and his own ability to interpret and lead a band.
There’s a review of Xhosa Cole’s 2021 debut here: