To Laurent de Wilde, Thelonious Monk has always been a special musician and an ever-intriguing and elusive character. Indeed, it has been a decades-long love affair for de Wilde, one that has produced an entire biography and a tribute album. In concerts with his Monk Trio, he explains to audiences how the repertoire is equal parts awe-inspiring and belittling, how it would take more than a life’s work to truly master. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped him from trying and there is perhaps no musician on the planet better equipped to do justice to famous tracks like “‘Round Midnight,” “Misterioso,” “Monk’s Mood” and “Reflections.”
One of the reasons Monk’s compositions are so slippery is that they push the player off-piste at every turn. Off-kilter rhythms, angular chord structures, geniously-placed bum notes … and all that before you even begin to think about feel and tone. Yet despite everything, beauty is the end goal. For some it is a chaotic and unresolved beauty, for others it is a higher truth. De Wilde accepts all facets and Monk’s towering repertoire has sent him on a mission into music that reflects and refracts all of life’s different emotions. This is a fantastic concert, made better by how good a speaker de Wilde proves to be – he gives context and personal reflections at every juncture.
