I first met Monk in Zurich! We had just arrived in Switzerland from South Africa and were playing at the Café Africana when Monk and his group came through Europe on a concert tour.
Monk had always been a source of inspiration to me - both as composer and pianist, partly because he is the natural successor and link to Duke Ellington.
And I had found Monk's music to be just that - natural! Although I gathered that many people and surprisingly many musicians perceived him and his music to be weird and strange even to a point of ridicule.
In more ways than one I had found his compositions and approach the most closely related - besides Duke of course - to our traditional African experience; a view enthusiastically shared by the late Kippy Moeketsi (alto sax and clarinet) who was the musical father of our contemporary South African cultural dynamic. Monk like Ellington personifies ancient persistent clarity and stirring conemporary reflections! REFLECTIONS!

Well you needn't state the obvious! Cognizance of the tradition presupposes total grasp and acceptance of the implied!
Ancient distance and contemporary experience resolve in effortless time/space! WELL YOU NEEDN'T!

There is no need to cut brilliant corners!
They are beacons of guidance in a daring fearless journey of the self.
Things seem to be angular only because we cannot comprehend the unity within and without.
Our points of reference themselves are as illusive and unstable as the tangents from which they emerge.
Monk resolves a statement with the natural innocence of a child - creating a stark sense of balanced imbalance! Simplicity is mother of the profound.
He can criss-cross variations of a theme forcing the mind and the body out of its lethargy and blind acceptance of the supposed obvious into an exhilarating dimension of suspense and joyous resolution - startling and at times wryly humorous! BRILLIANT CORNERS!

When we met backstage at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, I introduced myself and thanked him for the inspiration. He looked at me for a time and then said : "You're the first piano player to tell me that."
Through the years I have often thought about that meeting and reflected  on his words.

I realised that there is a distinct difference between piano players and composers who are pianists! Much more so with musicians in the jazz dynamic.
The piano player is involved in interpreting standard works. He/she has a definite and distinct point of reference and needs only to embellish on well-defined and tried techniques.
The composer of the piano faces a daunting task! He/she has virtually no point of inspirational reference except for those handful - if even that - of past or contemporary composers at the piano with whom he/she feels a deep affinity.
His/her techniques is developed over years of self-examination that creates that unique  and unmistakably personal sound and approach.
For the jazz player this dimension is extended even further because the database of immediately accessible information for instant recall and application at split second tuning during improvisation is even more personal and comes only through long and arduous hours of research and repetition.

Monk's words were a key to opening a door of understanding into the world  of perceived and accepted norms. So - for more - Monk's piano playing seems to be childish thinking.
His special physical addressing of the piano was principally designed to produce the desired unique sound and execution.
If you want to play Monk you must play Monk. It is virtually impossible to capture the fragrant essence and drama of his compositions unless one is completely versed with the inner voices and subtle shifting motion and triumphant rhythmic pulses and beats. Then one is pushed beyond limits - startling realization that the boundaries have been self-imposed. Monk showed us how to be a product of time and not a product of the times! TRINKLE TINKLE!

Centuries of pains, alienation, suffering and humiliation condensed into an ingenious twelve-stanza formula for total creative liberation.
Ever-changing intervals commensurate with the experiences of the bondage-based seekers.
Sing to me of ancient mysteries and new inspirations! MISTERIOSO!
Monk's influence and challenge extends far beyond the boundaries of the piano!
Those coming to mind immediately are saxophone players Charlie Rouse, Johnny Griffin, John Coltrane. And bassists, composers, pianists - many musicians.
So many poignant Monk stories abound.
Drummer Ben Riley relates this conversation on first joining the band:
"Monk, when are we going to rehearse?"
"Why? Do you want to learn how to cheat?"
The pianist/composer enjoys a decided advantage in that he/she has at the keyboard the widest, most diverse array and scope of sounds  and colours than any other instrument.

Because of its natural complexity in structure - melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic - Monk's music translates almost word for word to orchestral settings, whether in small combo, big band and beyond.
The late Professor Hall Overton of Julliard College of Music in New York City who created the charts for Monk's Town Hall big band concert worked lovingly almost religiously as close as can be to the piano version and solos of the particular songs, designating them to other instruments.
The effect was remarkable in that it brought us even closer to the inner Monk ear and creative genius.
It is still a consistent thrill to discover the gems he left  in his compositions and playing. A unique sense and manifestation of time and space.
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© Abdullah Ibrahim