Playing With Monk is jazz duo of piano and saxophone, focused around the music and influence of jazz iconoclast Thelonious Monk.
This project for the two veteran composer/instrumentalists consists of a unique repertoire drawn from the iconic compositions of Thelonious Monk, both the well-known and the obscure, as well as original tunes both new and old from the two composers’ catalogues that are inspired/influenced by Monk’s work.
The music is swinging, bluesy and spiky, as Monk would have liked it.
News Flash! : Click this link for more information about their latest project:
Jazz Goes To The Movies.
You may know New Zealand émigré Peter Dasent from his film music compositions (including Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and Meet The Feebles), his long tenure as music director/on-screen pianist for ABC’s long-running ‘Play School’, his Eastside radio show ‘One Size Fits All’, or his recordings of the music of Nino Rota or with his longstanding band The Umbrellas. https://www.peterdasent.com
You may know native New Yorker Phillip Johnston from his film scoring career (Paul Mazursky’s Faithful, Henry Bean’s Noise, Philip Haas’s The Music of Chance), his numerous festival appearances (Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Festival, MONA FOMA, Sydney Vivid), his silent film scores, his 20 recordings as a leader, or his local bands The Coolerators, The Greasy Chicken Orchestra or SNAP Sax Quartet. https://phillipjohnston.com/
They are co-leaders of the early jazz repertory band The Greasy Chicken Orchestra, who are in their 7th year of regular performances at Sydney’s Foundry 616. Johnston’s New York band The Microscopic Septet’s 2010 recording Friday The 13th: The Micros Play Monk (Cuneiform) was given 4 stars, made an Editor’s Pick and called ‘a love letter to Monk’ by Downbeat Magazine.
This new duo is the latest in a long history of collaboration between Dasent and Johnston on new and inventive projects that combine originality and a deep love of the breadth of jazz history.
Video clip: Playing With Monk plays Monk’s Locomotive
Contact:
Phillip Johnston phillip@phillipjohnston.com 0424 655 317
Peter Dasent peterdasent@mac.com