John Tchicai – In Monk’s Mood
(SteepleChase G1675. Album review from vinyl by Phil Johnson)

The vinyl revival is helping to unearth some real treasures. I was previously unaware of the existence of this album first released in 2009, recorded in New York with a rhythm section of George Colligan, Steve LaSpina and Billy Drummond, and it’s an absolute belter. The late great Danish-born saxophonist John Tchicai (1936-2012) , a member of the New York Contemporary Five with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry, and enrolled by John Coltrane for the 1965 recording of ‘Ascension’, had approached SteepleChase label boss Nils Winther, whom he’d recorded for 20 years earlier, asking for another date.

They agreed on a repertoire of Monk tunes, with the unusual insistence by Winther that Tchicai play alto sax rather than his usual tenor. But what makes the session so distinctive is that by pure chance there happened to be a Hammond B3 organ in the studio and pianist Colligan used it for three of the seven tunes, ‘Monk’s Mood’, ‘Light Blue’ and ‘Round Midnight’. The effect, with a gentle swell of Hammond cushioning Tchicai’s very soulful-sounding sax, is sensational. Despite his reputation as a free player, Tchicai plays it all pretty straight, with the exception of the one non-Monk original, his own ‘Cool Copy, a gloss on Monk’s ‘Let’s Cool One’.

It’s all good, but the versions of ‘Ruby, My Dear’, which features a lovely bass solo by Steve LaSpina, ‘Round Midnight’, and the opening, Hammond-assisted ‘Monk’s Mood’, are classics of their kind. Of course, it’s hard to go completely wrong with Monk as the compositions are so strong in themselves, but Tchicai shows great sensitivity and restraint, giving total respect to the master. The original CD release featured an additional version of ‘Monk’s Mood’, recorded as a trio when Billy Drummond was stuck in traffic on his way to the studio.

LINK: Buy In Monk’s Mood on vinyl