TS Monk Sextet October 24, 2007

Drummer, bandleader, composer and vocalist T.S. Monk was drawn to the drums before the age of ten. His destiny was sealed when Max Roach, with whom he studied, gave him his first drum set. He joined his father's trio and toured with his dad until the elder Monk's retirement in 1975. T. S. then launched into the music that had captivated him and his generation, R&B. He first toured with a group called Natural Essence and afterward formed his own band. Monk's Music Trio wades into the tricky yet fantastically rewarding music of Thelonious Monk with joie de vivre, panache and a great deal of skill. The trio of drummer Chuck Bernstein, pianist Si Perkoff and bassist Sam Bevan interpret Monk's compositions with a ringing clarity and interact on the bandstand with the sort of electric empathy.