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MUSIC
THELONIOUS MONK VINCE
GUARALDI (TRIO)
Jazz giant Thelonious Monk was born
in 1917 in North Carolina, one of three
children. By the age of 4, New York’s Upper West Side became home. Showing
early signs of greatness first on trumpet,
the prodigy took to piano by the age of
6. Thelonious exited the prestigious
Stuyvesant High in grade 10 to follow
music, making his early bones as a sideman. In 1944, he marked his vinyl fingerprints with the Coleman Hawkins Quartet, and that same Year Cootie Williams
recorded his legendary title “Round Midnight.” By 1947, Monk started recording
with his own sextette, opening the gate
to a galaxy of groundbreaking works for
Columbia, RCA, Blue Note, Capital and
Decca. A burdened and enigmatic soul,
Monk would periodically retreat to the
quietude of home life. A jazz renaissance
in 1964 landed Monk on the cover of
Time magazine. He collaborated with
jazz greats Charlie Parker, Miles Davis,
Bud Powell, Kenny Clark, Dizzy Gillespie,
Sonny Rollins, Lucky Millinder, Charlie
Christian, Roy Eldridge, Art Blakey, John
Coltrane, Max Roach, Milt Jackson,
Oscar Pettiford and Sonny Stitt. Monk
stepped away from the spotlight in the
mid-’70s, suffering a variety of misdiagnosed ills, and passed away from a stroke
in 1982. Remember the top bop magnetar with “Stuffy Turkey,” from his 1964
It’s Monk’s Time.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Jazz
ARTIST: Thelonious Monk
SONG: Stuffy Turkey
ALBUM: It’s Monk’s Time
Jazz pianist/multi-instrumentalist
Vince Anthony Guaraldi was born in
San Francisco in 1928. Years of early
dues-paying on the local circuit seasoned him for his later success. After
marking his first recording in 1953
with the Cal Tjader Trio, he spent the
next couple of years playing the beatnik scene to hone his craft. By 1955,
he formed his own trio alongside Eddie
Duran (guitar) and Dean Reilly (bass),
and soon after made his recording
debut as frontman. Hitting his stride
over the next decade, he earned his
first gold record and Grammy in 1963.
His titles have been graced by Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck and David
Benoit. Collaborations include Eugene
Wright, Jerry Dodgion, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Monte Budwig,
Colin Bailey, guitarist Bola Sete and
most notably Charles Schulz (creator
of Peanuts). Guaraldi passed away in
1976 of a heart attack and leaves behind two dozen plus albums to collect.
Revisit his eternal and ever-classic
“Great Pumpkin Waltz,” from Charlie
Brown’s Holiday Hits (Remastered).
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Holiday/Jazz
ARTIST: Vince Guaraldi (Trio)
SONG: Great Pumpkin Waltz
ALBUM: Charlie Brown’s
Holiday Hits (Remastered)
HUFFINGTON
11.24-12.01.13
MARIA McKEE
(LONE JUSTICE)
Artist, composer, singer and actress
Maria McKee has always been ahead
of her time. Born in California (fourth
generation), her family roots are rich
in Hollywood lore. Her aunt Dolly had a
low-wire act appearing several times on
The Ed Sullivan Show. Her grandfather
was an artist who worked in the atelier
of Tony Duquette in the 1940s. McKee’s
older brother (18 years her senior) was
Bryan MacLean, a co-founder of the
band Love. Her father, Jack, ran a beatnik bar frequented by Clint Eastwood
and Lana Turner’s boyfriend Johnny
Stompanato, who came in for a beer the
night before he was stabbed to death.
McKee’s career began in the theater department at Beverly Hills High along with
fellow students Nicolas Cage and Crispin
Glover. A year later, McKee became the
frontwoman for the critically acclaimed
alt-country ensemble Lone Justice. Her
songs have been covered by The Dixie
Chicks and Bette Midler. She’s toured
extensively with U2. Collaborations
include Dave Stuart, Bob Dylan, Martin
Scorsese and Robbie Robertson. Credits
include Pulp Fiction and Days of Thunder soundtracks. She’s a gospel-glamcountry-rock-opera explosion. Check out
“Soap, Soup and Salvation,” from the
1985 freshman set Lone Justice.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Alt-Country/Rock
ARTIST: Maria McKee (Lone
Justice)
SONG: Soap, Soup and Salvation
ALBUM: Lone Justice