Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Spencer Patterson: On the drums, Monk snares his own identity

Any chance of T.S. Monk following in his famous father's footsteps and becoming a legendary pianist went up in smoke his first day of high school.

"I went to a private prep school, and on the very first day the piano teacher said, 'You know, your father plays the piano incorrectly,' " Monk, son of jazz piano icon Thelonious Monk, said.

"I have to say, that did not establish a basis for a good relationship."

Monk went on to take five years of piano lessons, but says he "absorbed zero." Instead, his sights were set on the drums, an instrument that intrigued the Manhattan native from a young age.

"Everybody picks an instrument because they see something that makes them say, 'Oh, I can do that. I understand that'," the 55-year-old Monk said in a phone interview from his New Jersey home Tuesday.

"I didn't get that feeling from the piano. I didn't get it from the saxophone. But I always had it from the drums."

So, 23 years after the death of Thelonious Monk, the Monk family's jazz legacy lives on in the capable hands of T.S., one of the most acclaimed drummers on the jazz scene.

Saturday night Monk brings his renowned sextet to Las Vegas for an appearance in the long-running "Jazz in the Park" series at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater. Music begins at 8 p.m. Admission is free.

The six-piece band has been together for three years, though many of the musicians have been with Monk for longer. Saxophonists Willie Williams and Robert Porcelli have regularly played alongside the drummer/bandleader for 12 years.

The importance of keeping a group together is one of the many lessons Monk learned by being around his father.

"You look at Miles' band with Coltrane and my father's band with (Charlie) Rouse or Duke Ellington's band with Johnny Hodges ... those guys stayed together for a while," Monk said. "That's how you develop that group mentality and ultimately that group sound."

Monk, who received his first drum set from Art Blakey and took his first drum lesson from another jazz great, Max Roach, also gleaned a lot about the best way to approach live performances as a drummer leading a band.

"I learned that you cannot maintain a band as a drummer and leader if you're playing drum solos all day and night," Monk said. "You need substantial music and a certain measure of variety. And that elevates the band as the star of the show, instead of the drummer as the star of the show."

Monk, who played alongside his father in Thelonious Monk's famous quartet during the early 1970s before the pianist retired in 1973, called the experience "the most fantastic musical experience I've ever had."

"I'm eternally grateful for that opportunity because it really set the tone for the rest of my career in terms of pursuit of excellence, in terms of focus and in terms of honesty and integrity as an artist," Monk said.

"Thelonious was an incredible teacher who taught through illustration, rather than talking about the music. He was a master of exposing who you were, and he was even a greater master of showing you how to present yourself. No one knew how to get to the 'you' of you more than Thelonious."

But while Monk is happy to share memories of his father and his father's legendary peers, he keeps his live gigs lighthearted and grounded in the present.

"Lots of people say, 'Oh, T.S. Monk, he's Thelonious Monk's son,' and then they get very, very serious and dark and foreboding," Monk said. "But my father's already on the Mount Olympus of jazz, and that's enough for the Monk family right now.

"So when people come to see me, I can basically fool around and have a good time. It ain't a jazz history lesson. It's not a cultural awareness session. It's about patting your foot and having a good time."

Music notes

Blues are back: The Sand Dollar blues club (3355 Spring Mountain Road) celebrates its reopening with a "Grand Welcome Back" show on Sunday. Beginning at 2 p.m., six local blues bands will take the stage: BluesStorm, the Spellcasters, Iya Khan & The Would Be Kings, Vegas Blues Kings, Moody Scott & Positive Force and Scott Rhiner & The Moanin' Black Snakes.

A door donation of $5 is requested. Call 871-6651 for more information.

Cover me: Starting next week, the Fremont Street Experience will host a series of rock tribute acts on alternate Tuesdays.

The lineup: Pump (Aerosmith tribute) on June 14, Desperado (Eagles) on June 28, Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) on July 12, Sticky Fingers (Rolling Stones) on July 26, Led Zepagain (Led Zeppelin) on Aug. 9 and Eruption (Van Halen) on Aug. 23.

Bands will perform between the Las Vegas Club and Golden Gate hotels. Admission is free.

Concert calendar: Plenty of big names are in town this weekend, with something likely to appeal to virtually every taste in popular music.

Classic rock loyalists might want to check out the Moody Blues at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts tonight ($45 to $75) or ZZ Top at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater tonight and Saturday ($85 to $110)

For jazz aficionados, guitar great George Benson plays a pair of shows at the Golden Nugget's Theatre Ballroom ($74.95).

Country enthusiasts will flock to the Mandalay Bay Events Center, where Kenny Chesney headlines with support from Gretchen Wilson and Pat Green ($52.50 to $94.50).

And pop fans probably already have their tickets for Maroon 5, who perform Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena ($31.50 to $99.75) in conjunction with this weekend's Arena Bowl XIX football festivities.

On sale

The recently reunited Destiny's Child plays the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Aug. 26. Tickets are $47.25, $67.25 and $87.25 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Alejandro Fernandez performs at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Sept. 15. Tickets are $59.09 to $159.09 and are on sale now at the Caesars Palace box office and through Ticketmaster.

On Aug. 5, 311 lands at the Palms' Skin Pool Lounge. Tickets are $35 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Palms box office and through Ticketmaster.

The Circle Jerks play the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on July 24. Tickets are $12 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the House of Blues box office and through Ticketmaster.

Howie Day performs at the House of Blues with opening act Anna Nalick on Aug. 5. Tickets are $15 and $20 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.

W.A.S.P. headlines an Aug. 7 House of Blues show, with support acts LA Guns and ex-Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy. Tickets are $22 and $30 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.

Slipknot stops at the House of Blues on Aug. 21. Tickets are $40 and $50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.com.

archive