On October 10, 2007, on what would have been Thelonious Sphere Monk’s 90th birthday, pianist Robi Botos, bassist Scott Alexander and I went into a Toronto studio and spent the day recording Monk’s music. There were no charts, no preconceived arrangements – just three friends playing tunes we all knew well.
After those sessions I found myself busy with other projects and those tracks sat on the shelf for 10 years.
On the occasion of Monk’s 100th birthday I was reminded of those tracks and gave them a listen. The magic that always happens when the three of us play together, (as we have done for over 15 years now), was evident with every tune, so I knew I had to do something with those tracks. So, on June 5, 2018, we returned to the studio and recorded a few more Monk tunes. What we ended up with on the CD (Barlow, Botos & Alexander: Play Monk) was a mix of tracks from those two sessions, recorded more than ten years apart .
The idea for us to play In Walked Bud in five-four was Robi’s. I suggested that we play Blue Monk in three. Other than that, we pretty much just selected the tune, the key, and started playing. Most of the tracks on this CD are either first or second takes.
Abide With Me was written by another unrelated Monk, William Henry, in 1847 and originally titled ‘Eventide’. Thelonious included it on his 1957 album ‘Monk’s Music’.
The CD was dedicated to my dad who was a source of inspiration and love.