If you want to get a sense of modern jazz history, an excellent place to start would be to hit the Baked Potato the third Wednesday of every month, and drummer Charles Ruggiero will give a Master Class workshop on one of the heads on the Mount Rushmore of Modern Jazz, Thelonious Monk.
The brilliance of Ruggiero’s monthly presentation is that while he delivers the spirit and energy of Monk’s music, he doesn’t imitate. For instance in Wednesday evening’s set, he included keyboardist Larry Goldings, playing an instrument The Spherical One never touched. This added a creative color to the Monk songbook, and with bassist Mike Gurrola and tenor saxist Ralph Moore, Ruggiero propelled the band through a 70 minute set of bebopping celebration.
And Ruggiero is the perfect drummer to deliver Monk’s moods, as his drumming carries with it a hint of Art Blakey, who was on many of the most iconic of the pianists recordings. Mixing his own style with patented press rolls, thundering rumbles and propulsive cymbal riding, Ruggiero was as crisp as Romaine lettuce as he kept the engines humming under Moore’s husky tenor on the opening “We See” and delivered a sleek cadence to the introducing segue into a bluesy bop rendion of “Green Chimney” that had Goldings in a soulful mood and Moore digging deep into the bass/drum rivulet.
Ruggiero had the team peg-leg through the clever intervals of “Misterioso” , as Goldings created eerie indigo hues and the drummer had his sticks dance on the ride cymbal. The team then popped the clutch and double timed, rushing off the the races on a “Bemsha Swing” that had Moore long boarding the white caps, Goldings creating ripples of joy and the leader using each drum like a painter approaching a palate. Moore was bel canto on a dainty “Ruby My Dear” over Ruggiero’s deft brushes before the quartet closed things up with an optimistic romp through “Monk’s Dream” with Gurrola and Ruggiero digging into a closing and climactic duet that was hipper than a hippo..
With an artist like Thelonious Monk, it is difficult to know what part of the jazz giant to capture, which is why so many musicians fail trying to give a proper tribute. Ruggiero successfully brought out the creativity, swing, joy, artistry and even the mischievous inquisitiveness that has made Thelonious Monk’s music be able to stand the test of time, something today’s artist might want to consider in a day of fast food melodies.
Upcoming shows at The Baked Potato include Ozone Squeeze 03/18, Bernie Dresel 03/21, Benny Rietveld 03/23 and Andrew Synowiec 03/31