Friday, 13th October, 2010! The Micros Played Monk!

The Microscopic Septet are widely agreed to be one of the most important and unique bands to come out of the New York Downtown Scene of the 1980s. Co-led by soprano saxophonist Phillip Johnston and pianist Joel Forrester (who both also composed most of their music), they entertained audiences with their unusual combination of swing, energy, and humor, what Downbeat Magazine recently described as ““seminal, brilliant post-modern jazz.”

From 1980-1992 they played constantly around New York and toured the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2006 they re-convened in order to promote the Cuneiform release of a four-CD retrospective of their 80s LPs (Seven Men In Neckties/Surrealistic Swing). 2008 saw the release of Lobster Leaps In, their first new recording since 1996 to raves from audiences and critics alike. Jazziz Magazine said it brought “a renewed sense of fun to the often humorless jazz milieu, ”and the Village Voice called them “the finest retro-futurists around.”

Joel Forrester and Phillip Johnston were brought together by chance in 1974 by Monk’s “Well You Needn’t.” Since that time, Monk’s music has been an inspiration and guiding light, and, along with their own music, they always played Monk’s music: as a duo, in Joel’s quartets and large groups, and from the very beginning, with the Microscopic Septet. Micros gigs always included Monk tunes, but due to their limited number of releases, they only ever recorded Joel’s arrangement of ‘Crepuscule For Nellie.’

The new Micros CD, Friday The 13th, last October 2010: The Micros Play Monk rectifies this omission. Featuring original arrangements of 12 Monk tunes, half from “back in the day” and half newly written for this recording, the Micros make clear their line of descent from Monk. The humor and angularity of Monk’s compositions mesh easily and joyfully with the elaboration and juxtaposition of Micros-style arranging. This ain’t no deconstruction, it’s a celebration!

With gorgeous art work by New Yorker artist Barry Blitt, and liner notes by jazz critic and long-time Micros fan Peter Keepnews, F13 is surprising yet inevitable: a long overdue party with the master, at which The Micros Play Monk.

The Microscopic Septet also collaborated recently with Michael Hearst for his project, Songs For Unusual Creatures. Songs For Unusual Creatures is a book and cd that celebrates some of the most under-appreciated creatures that roam the planet. The Microscopic Septet recorded a song about the tardigrade, which is a microscopic, aquatic, eight-legged animal.

The New York Times recently wrote a great article on Joel Forrester, you can read it here

From: http://microscopicseptet.com/