At a glance
Tap dancer Liberty Styles figures on ‘Trinkle, Tinkle’ featured on the new Xhosa Cole album
It’s a great time to be a fan of Thelonious Monk with new approaches from top UK artists swirling around currently.
Monkin’ Around, the Dave O’Higgins entity’s new 4 in 1, proved one of last year’s best UK jazz albums.
And now taking a leap in a different direction an acclaimed tenor saxophonist from a younger generation takes the bold move of injecting tap dance and vocals into a guitar flavoured sound. There’s no piano anywhere on the recording.
It’s Birmingham saxophonist Xhosa Cole, a former BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, who takes up the baton for early 2025.
Genius of Monk
Issued once again on Xhosa’s long time label home Birmingham jazz indie the W. B. A.-loving Stoney Lane, the work is entitled On A Modern Genius (Vol.1) [***1/2].
The album title riffs off Monk 1950s era Genius of Modern Music Vol 1.
Initial track ‘Trinkle Tinkle,’ first introduced on the Prestige Thelonious (1953) album covered by many down the years including a magical take from Chick Corea in the 70s, is streaming.
For many, however, a version featuring bebop pioneer Monk with John Coltrane is the absolute ultimate and as a hugely skilled saxophonist Cole knows his Coltrane inside out.
Vocals by Heidi Vogel feature on ‘Come Sunday’
- Catch up on the latest marlbank album reviews
Other tracks are ‘Rhythm-a-ning,’ two mash-ups ‘Misterioso/Straight, No Chaser’ and ‘Criss Cross/’Round Midnight/Brilliant Corners,’ ‘Let’s Cool One,’ ‘Bright Mississippi’ and a version of Duke Ellington’s ‘Come Sunday’ featuring The W singer Heidi Vogel.
Liberty Styles, photo: Bandcamp, appears on 4 tracks
At its core a quartet album with added tap dance from US dancer Liberty Styles on some tracks, this recording was captured in Birmingham at the 1000 Trades pub in March last year. Photo: Visit Birmingham
“It’s a snapshot from back-to-back dates in the middle of the tour playing this music – we were in a van trekking up and down the UK – St. Ives to Devon to Wales to Morecambe to Newcastle to Louth to Sheffield,” says Cole.
The Xhosa Cole Quartet. Photo: publicity shot
The Xhosa quartet has Steve Saunders on guitar, Josh Vadiveloo on double bass and Nathan England Jones on drums.
Tap dancer Liberty Styles also contributes to ‘Rhythm-a-ning,’ ‘Bright Mississippi’ and ‘Come Sunday.’