monchie's music

ever since he can remember, monchie has been a music fan. when he was a little boy, he used a portion of his allowance to buy 45 rpm records, then, as a working teenager, graduated to 33's. back in those days, most of what he bought was rock 'n' roll, which monchie's father, monchie b. monchum, sr., affectionately referred to as "that noise!" - as in "turn that noise down!"

funny thing is, today monchie b. monchum jr.'s taste in music is somewhat like his dad's. both monchies have shared an appreciation of jazz, tho sr.'s collection was mostly pre-1945 while jr.'s extends from the 20s thru the 90s. monchie jr. also collects classical recordings, with his favorite composers being mozart, haydn, and beethoven.

monchie still listens to some rock, mostly 60s thru early 80s - he's particularly fond of frank zappa, talking heads, and the ramones - and is also a big fan of zydeco music. when he plays that kind of stuff on his stereo, he can almost hear monchie sr. yelling down from heaven, "turn that noise down!"

monchie's pick hits: new releases

charlie haden & pat metheny's "beyond the missouri sky"

the interplay between haden's lyrical bass and metheny's exquisite acoustic guitar on"beyond the missouri sky" (verve cd's) is a marriage made in jazz heaven. best cuts: "waltz for ruth," "our spanish love song," "two for the road," and the main theme of cinema paradiso. simply one of the most beautiful albums monchie has heard in a long, long time.

don byron's "bug music"

byron is a true jazz eccentric. on his previous cd, the clarinetist explored klezmer, the music of jewish immigrants from eastern europe. now, on "bug music" (nonesuch cd's) he goes back to the roots of jazz, with a nice dose of ellingtonia as well as tunes associated with pioneering jazz-classical fusionist john kirby and 1930s cartoon composer raymond scott. best cuts: "the dicty glide," "the quintet plays carmen," "cotton club stomp," and an extended jam on billy strayhorn's "snibor." if "bug music" doesn't bring a smile to your face and make you tap your feet, monchie thinks you must be either dead or a hopeless heavy metal fan.

monchie's pick hits: reissues

charlie parker's "yardbird suite"

the folks at rhino records have done it again: produced the definitive 2-cd anthology of an important artist. "yardbird suite" comprises the best of bird's works from the dial, savoy, and clef/verve vaults, plus live recordings and radio broadcast transcriptions. best cuts: "ornithology," "donna lee," "salt peanuts," "'round midnight," and many, many more. sidemen include dizzy gillespie (some of the recordings were actually dizzy's sessions), thelonious monk, miles davis, bud powell, and max roach. more than 40 years after his death, bird lives!

clifton chenier's "zydeco dynamite"

another fine 2-cd anthology from rhino records, this one by the king of zydeco music, clifton chenier. zydeco is sort of like the blues, louisiana style, sometimes sung in french and with the dominant instrument being a very funky accordion. but one listen to chenier gettin' down and dirty on his squeeze box and you'll never think of lawrence welk again! best cuts: "eh, petite fille," "zydeco cha cha," covers of louis jordan's "choo choo ch-boogie" and ray charles's "what'd i say," and monchie's personal favorite, "i'm a hog for you." put this set on your cd player and, as they say down in lafayette, louisiana, laissez les bons temps rouler!

monchie's music links

• jazznet

• jazzlinks

• charles mingus home page

back to monchieland main gate

monchieland exit