Ellis Marsalis Quartet: An Open Letter to Thelonious

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Ben Ratliff wrote in the New York Times: "Thelonious Monk's songs leave no place for a musician to hide … and that's probably why other musicians playing Monk's music … have made some of their own best work in the process. Maybe too — as the drummer Jason Marsalis puts it … it helps that Monk was the 'first unofficial funk musician.' … That stutter-stepping funk is built into a lot of Monk's compositions. … Here it comes out most often in the rhythm section, between Jason Marsalis and the bassist Jason Stewart. In tunes like 'Teo' and 'Jackie-ing,' the drummer establishes a raw, banging funk up front, then later falls into 4/4 swing that makes the switch a logical transition. Anyone who has admired the younger Marsalis's drum solos … will find a few brilliant ones here. Derek Douget, an underrated saxophonist from New Orleans, is the dry and smart-sounding saxophonist in the quartet. And Ellis Marsalis, at 73 a lucid, subtle, laconic pianist, shines up these tunes, leaving sufficient space while weaving phrases in and around the solos. Clearly this music has gotten into his bloodstream" ("Critics' Choice," 4/7/08).