Album Notes

About the Music:

This recording documents the ensemble's celebration of the 60th
Anniversary of the "Birth of the Cool" and the 50th Anniversary of the
"Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall". It was recorded live with no splices, overdubs, and with minimal isolation.

“Budo”, “Boplicity” and “Move” are directly from the original "Birth of
the Cool" sessions with new solos by Brent, Sarah, Matt M., Alex, Web
and myself.

“Joost at the Roost”, a Mulligan original, was discovered
after the death of Miles Davis among the trumpeter's personal effects
in a warehouse in Philadelphia. It was never recorded by the nonet.

Chris Byars arranged “Baby Grand” for the ensemble. It was composed by
George Wallington, who also composed "Godchild" for the "Birth of the
Cool" sessions of 1949.

“Blues for Blee” and “Ballad for Blee” were both penned by Gene
D'Andrea. “Blues for Blee” captures the character of Gil Evans'
masterful works with a chord progression favored by Bud Powell. The
originals were premiered by the ensemble as part of D.C.'s Inaugural
Jazz Series in January 2009.

“Off Minor “("What Now") and “Feeling That Way Now” (one of the
original titles of “Monk's Mood”) feature Rodney Richardson's guitar
in place of the piano. The selection of guitar over piano was
inspired by circumstances where the ensemble would perform "Monk at
Town Hall" at venues without a piano. Incidentally, Richardson's creative authenticity when
interpreting Monk was an inspiration in itself.

My arrangements of “Light Blue” and “Oska T.” are derived from Hall
Overton's big band versions that Monk performed at the Philharmonic
Hall in 1963. I re-worked the voicings to fit this instrumentation and
re-imagined the background lines.

Gene D'Andrea's arrangement of “Lulu’s Back In Town”, a favorite
standard in Monk’s repertoire, pays homage not only to Monk’s
interpretation, but also to Fats Waller’s rendition with clarinet in place of the tenor saxophone.

- Brad Linde, August 2009

with:
Brad Linde-tenor saxophone/clarinet, baritone saxophone (1-7)
Brent Madsen-trumpet
Sarah Hughes-alto saxophone/clarinet
Heidi Littman-french horn
Matt Musselman-trombone
Matt Rippetoe-baritone saxophone (8-12)
Liz Prince-tuba
Rodney Richardson-guitar
Alex Shubert-piano
Kevin Pace-bass
Web Grant-drums