Monk Is Tough

It's Larry Goldings.

(It is, although some hard-core easy listening fans refuse to believe that Groiner doesn't exist. -- DR)

I suspect that "Mr. Groiner" is playing a joke
on everyone--indeed, I pray it's a joke, although these days nothing would surprise me. As I watched the first bit of the video, his hair looked to me as though it might actually be a wig and I began to have doubts......
Patti

It really did sound like Liberace (is he really dead). Just what I need Monk "smoothed out". There was one Monk "tribute" that did come off IMHO and that was "That's the way I feel mow" by Hal Wilner in 1984 featuring such musicians as Carla Bley, Johnny Griffin, Dr. John, John Zorn, Steve Lacy and Todd Rungren. The difference being that all of the music seemed to have a real love of Monk's music. Nothing smoothed out here, in fact some of it was extremely eccentric. I'm sure Monk would have loved it.

Mr Groiner is hardly to be laughing all the way to the bank as who the hell would buy this garbage.

Yes, "Hans Groiner" is (obviously) a joke -- the interesting question is, who is the jokester?

I have a pretty good idea, but the guessing game is much more fun if there's actual guessing involved...

I think the Groiner piece is indeed a joke, practical or otherwise. Remember Steve Allen's 'discovery' of a boogie-woogie pianist back in the sixties?

Given the photo, the copy and of course the music itself, surely Hans Groiner is a total spoof. Rather in the tradition of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards (now I'm showing my age).

Word on the street is that "Hans Groiner" is a Famous Jazz Pianist. Would it be irresponsible to speculate? It would be irresponsible not to.

In the category of Monk renditions that are more appreciative and interesting, I recently enjoyed hearing "Trinkle, Tinkle" off Gianluca Petrella's Indigo4 album. It features some tasteful computer sampling, but it's not sampling for the sake of sampling, and it's done in a playful spirit that I think Monk might have appreciated.

Not Charlie Kunz Plays Monk? This poor misguided idiot will have to be very tough to withstand the abuse he's going to get from us: Thelonious Monk lovers unite!

I didn't have the stomach to investigate the left or the middle.

An absolute desecration.

- Mel