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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

For Labor Day: “Work”

The admonition above may seem contradictory, since Labor Day was designed to honor those who labor by giving them the day off. We presume that workers in the US and in Canada (where this is Labour Day), are observing the intent with picnics, ball games, jugs of lemonade and family festivities of all kinds. It is unlikely that Thelonious Monk (pictured) had Labor Day in mind when he composed “Work” for his first Prestige recording session. But for our purposes, let’s say that Monk intended this ingenious melody as a tribute to working men and women everywhere. Monk, bassist Gary Mapp and drummer Art Blakey recorded the piece on October 15, 1952. Let’s listen to it together on Labor Day, 2018.  (Despite the cover information, Sonny Rollins does not appear on this track.)

 

The complete collection of Monk’s Prestige recordings has been released in this 3-CD box.

Happy Labor Day to all Rifftides Readers.

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Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, … [MORE]

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