Gutbrain Records

Wednesday, 9 February 2005

Thanks to everybody who came to the show at the Slought Foundation in Philadelphia. Thanks to Mark Christman and Michael Ricci (All About Jazz) for setting it up. A good time was had by all, as they say. Next time I go to Philadelphia, though, I think I'll have to make a side trip to the Weyerbacher Brewery. A few days ago I tried a glass of their Heresy, an Imperial Stout that's aged in oak barrels once used to age bourbon. Wow! That is an amazing beer.

I go to the Village Vanguard every year to see Paul Motian's trio with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. That's one of my favorite bands of all time, and since they always play around my birthday, it's kind of a present I can give myself. I know their material really well and I'm a great admirer of Paul Motian's compositions. A couple of years ago, they played a tune which sounded really familiar but which I couldn't name. For days, maybe even weeks, this was driving me nuts.

I can't remember how long it took, but I did hear that tune again. It's the first track on Disc 8 of Thelonious Monk: The Complete Riverside Recordings. It's called "Unidentified Solo Piano" (composer/publisher unknown) and it's about two minutes long. In the liner notes for the Monk Riverside box, Orrin Keepnews says that it sounds like a standard (I agree), but nobody recognizes it.

ECM has just released a new recording of the Motian-Frisell-Lovano trio, and this mystery song closes out the CD. They call it "Dreamland" and credit it to Monk. The CD is called I Have the Room Above Her and it's really great.