Tellingly, although musical talent is almost universally regarded as a sign of general intelligence, if not genius, African-American musicians have, in the past, been thought of as having "a natural sense of rhythm." As an amateur musician who has tried for years to learn to play jazz, I have nothing but respect for the intelligence and craftsmanship, and, yes, genius, of the African-Americans who invented and developed the idiom.
Among the most brilliant Afro-American musicians who have enriched the culture of the world, was the eccentric Thelonious Monk, who wrote the gem I've been thinking about, "Straight no Chaser." It's a twelve-bar blues, with no substitute chords or advanced harmonization: it's straight, as the title announces. But it's all chaser.
The melody is also deceptively simple, a riff that's repeated ten times, with some variations, including a chromatic version of it near the end. Hardly changing the riff at all, Monk made it fit perfectly over the traditional harmonic structure of the blues. It's a bit like a puzzle that's been solved, but the solution is so clever that the challenge of the puzzle remains in the air. What makes it so elusive and unpredictable is the way Monk starts the riff on different beats, managing to surprise the listener again and again in the restricted, twelve-bar framework.
I can hardly think of a piece more satisfying to play, as hard as it is to play it well.
Among the most brilliant Afro-American musicians who have enriched the culture of the world, was the eccentric Thelonious Monk, who wrote the gem I've been thinking about, "Straight no Chaser." It's a twelve-bar blues, with no substitute chords or advanced harmonization: it's straight, as the title announces. But it's all chaser.
The melody is also deceptively simple, a riff that's repeated ten times, with some variations, including a chromatic version of it near the end. Hardly changing the riff at all, Monk made it fit perfectly over the traditional harmonic structure of the blues. It's a bit like a puzzle that's been solved, but the solution is so clever that the challenge of the puzzle remains in the air. What makes it so elusive and unpredictable is the way Monk starts the riff on different beats, managing to surprise the listener again and again in the restricted, twelve-bar framework.
I can hardly think of a piece more satisfying to play, as hard as it is to play it well.
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