Rhythm-n-ning

I've been feeling distinctly Thelonius Monk for the last couple of days. All stiff fingered and discordant. I can't play like him of course...It's just a good description of my health. I'd had a few weeks off from numb hands and pliered feet, which makes the return of it all the more unwelcome.

We're remounting a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for which I wrote an annoyingly difficult piano treatment of Oberon's Take hands with me and rock the ground speech - all syncopated semi-quavers. When I tried to play the thing it was far more syncopated than originally intended and it sounded more of a quiver than a quaver. My fingers were not playing along, mainly I suspected, because my arms and legs weren't.

Me and the eldest child went for a long cycle ride in the hope of exercising my limbs into life. I was admirably impressed with her dedication to exercise when after about 100 yards she said...we must have been going for about 3 miles by now. Shall we get a hot chocolate and go home? That was my kind of exercise. When we got home she decided to practise her flute to which she demanded some piano accompaniment. Tune a day book one flute accompanied by hopelessly syncopated wrong notes. This was beyond Thelonius...this was Stockhausen meets Cage and gets a headache.

Still, I have a few weeks in which to re-discover my inner Monk...but until then here is something Thelonius made earlier...if I could be half as hip as this...


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb5v0r_rhythmnning-thelonius-monk-1961_music