Description
Greg Lewis is a unique musician in that he is one of the few artists who consistently succeeds in make the organ a jazz instrument. He is planning a 3 volume set of CDs honoring Thelonious Monk, and for those who are fortunate enough to own the first CD in the series, be aware that Volume 2 is even more diverse and experimental and full of rich music.
Greg Lewis is both a composer and an organist: his beginnings were as organist at Brooklyn’s Calvary A.M.E. Church and it is that kind of soul that pervades his music now. Lewis is joined by his colleagues Nasheet Waits, drums and cymbals, Ronald Jackson, guitar, Reginald R. Woods, tenor sax, and of course Greg Lewis at the Hammond Organ. Four of the songs on this album are compositions (and arrangements of same) by Greg Lewis while the remaining ten are familiar and not so familiar arrangements and performances of the music of Thelonious Monk. The manner in which Lewis integrates the mighty organ sounds with the subtleties of the guitar in particular creates a vast spectrum of sound as well as expressive possibilities. For example ‘Ugly Beauty’ starts out sounding like music from outer space and then swoons into a ravishing tenor sax solo.
Lewis is a musical historian and curator and brings to this recording two of Monk’s compositions nearly obscure works – ‘Humph’ and ‘Skippy’ and after hearing what Lewis and his forces do with these works they likely will become standard repertoire with all jazz musicians who honor Monk. Lewis and Waits take us on an homage to Thelonious Monk’s tune for his wife ‘Crepuscule with Nellie’ and it is difficult to retrain the emotions
