Richie Cole/Tony Monaco - The Keys of Cool

GA Russell · September 3, 2019

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Richie Cole/ Tony Monaco
"The Keys Of Cool"

Format(s): Jazz

Richie Cole/Tony Monaco

The Keys Of Cool

(Richie Cole Presents)

The great bebop altoist Richie Cole has been undergoing a renaissance in his career ever since moving to Pittsburgh a few years ago. He originally started playing alto when he was ten, attended Berklee, gained experience working with the big bands of Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton, and became well known in the 1970s with his Alto Madness concept. The idea was that he could turn any song, even unlikely pop tunes, into swinging bebop. Beyond his mastery of his horn and the bebop vocabulary, Cole’s enthusiastic and chance taking solos made him a major force in the comeback of acoustic jazz. His recent string of fine recordings shows that he is still very much in his playing prime.

Cole had only recorded with organists on four prior occasions (1977’s Movin’ Up with Don Patterson, a 1996 album by organist Sam Salomone, 1998’s Come Sunday which had pianist Joe Bonner doubling on organ and keyboardist Brian Trainor’s Why Try To Change Me Now which included organist Joel Bryant) but he and Tony Monaco are a perfect match. Monaco took up the organ when he was 12, inspired by Jimmy Smith. He began leading albums in 2001 and has since been one of the major jazz organists. The co-leaders blend together well, take complementary solos, and consistently inspire each other. Guitarist Mark Lucas also takes many inventive and catchy solos throughout The Keys Of Cool with drummer-producer Reid Hoyson and Noel Quintana keeping the music swinging and grooving. The quintet sounds like a regularly working band even though chances are that this particular grouping of musicians had not happened before.

The Keys Of Cool includes a variety of standards including an infectious “Canadian Sunset,” “I Wish You Love” (which is taken at a perfect medium-slow tempo), “Our Day Will Come,” and a joyful version of “Sunday In New York.” Joy is one of the key adjectives in describing the performances on this set for it is obvious that the musicians love performing this music. Other selections include Monaco’s “I Remember Jimmy” (based on “Confirmation”), Cole’s exuberant waltz “No Longer Alone,” remakes of the altoist’s “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” and “Waltz For A Rainy Bebop Afternoon,” and Monaco’s funky “Indonesian Nights.” Add in Cole’s “Starburst” and a hard-swinging version of “It’s Not Unusual,” and one has a very satisfying and fun set.

The Keys Of Cool features all of the musicians in top form and is easily recommended to lovers of bebop, the jazz organ and Richie Cole.

- Scott Yanow, jazz journalist/historian and author of 11 books including Bebop and Jazz On Record 1917-76

b3monaco.com

Richiecole.net

Artist

Title

Time

Richie Cole/ Tony Monaco

I Remember Jimmy