Listening 6 - Rhythm-A-Ning/ Thelonious Monk

I loaded a bunch of jazz onto my ipod at the beginning of semester.  On my bike rides to class, I'd just pop in my headphones and get lost in all the different types of jazz.  Then one time, I called back to reality when I heard a lick that I had heard before.  I couldn't place it but I knew I had heard it before.  The song was Rhythm-A-Ning by Theolonious Monk.

Instantly, you know it is Monk.  Some of the very first "chords" played on the piano are Monk's signature dissonance chords.  They aren't very pleasing to the ear, but they somehow, Monk Magic I guess, fit into the song so well.  This specific recording is almost 10 minutes long, mainly due to solos.  I used the song given to us with the book to decipher Monk's code.

It starts out with the piano playing the head alone.  Then it is played with accompaniment and a sax 2 more times.  The head is 4 4/4 bars and then 5 3/4 bars.  Its wonky but it works.  And ain't that what jazz is all about?  Then it goes into the sax solo with a walking bass line in the back and comps by Monk on the piano.  I feel like the sax is alluding to another song at 1:10 in our recording, but I don't know what.  Then Monk solos.  His right hand is playing a very pretty tune and his left hand keeps hitting what some might call wrong notes, but they aren't wrong at all, that's just Monk.  He continues his solo in a similar fashion, then the head is played twice again with the sax.  The piano then focuses on the 3/4 bars before one last run through the head and then a fermata on the last note as Monk hits some more wonky chords to end it.

I enjoyed playing Monk songs when I was younger, but we never played them like he did.  Our pianist was great, but he didn't have Monk's quirks.  As I played and replayed this song, I wondered if that's where i recognized it from, but we never played this song, I would remember the weird title.  Then it hits me.  A 90's childrens show used the 4/4 bars from the head as it's catch phrase jingle.

Blue's Clues!!!!  Blue (the dog) and Steve (owner) both jump into picutres on the wall, but first they sing a little diddy.  (check it out at 1:40)  This little diddy also happens to be the opening line of Rhythm-A-Ning.  Coincidence? Maybe, but its cool that Monk is still permeating through time to my childhood.