Randy Weinstein Plays Monk on Harmonica

Cover of the album being discussed (from the album’s Amazon.com Web page)

This Friday (at least according to the Amazon.com Web page) Random Chance Records will release HarmoniMonk, a delightful arrangement of seven compositions by Thelonious Monk played on a variety of different harmonicas by Randy Weinstein. The above parenthesis is a “red flag of sorts,” since the content on the Web page is sparse and inaccurate to the extent that the Track Listing folds two separate tracks into a single one. (For what it is worth, Bandcamp is even more confusing.)

The compositions, in order of appearance, are as follows:

1. Bright Mississippi
2. Bye-Ya
3. Green Chimneys
4. In Walked Bud
5. Off Minor
6. Ruby My Dear
7. Straight No Chase

Weinstein plays all of these, but he does so in a variety of imaginative settings. For the most part, the settings are result of Weinstein’s own mixing techniques. For example, in “Bye-Ya” Weinstein compiles a collection of samples of drum performances by Clyde Stubblefield to serve as his only accompaniment. “Off Minor” is even more imaginative. It seems to be a “layered” recording beginning with a “foundation” of Richard Huntley on drums and other percussion. Weinstein then adds additional layers, which included not only his chromatic harmonica, but also keyboard work and electronically synthesized bass and bass flutes.

On the other hand, there is a good chance that both “Green Chimneys” and “In Walked Bud” are “live” performances. Both of these are duets with George Rush accompanying Weinstein on bass on “Green Chimneys,” while Michaela Gomez provides guitar accompaniment for “In Walked Bud.” Ironically, even when it is clear that a track is the result of meticulous engineering and mixing, there is still an element of spontaneity. The delivery may not bring you to the edge of your seat the way that watching Monk in action tended to do (back when I tried to catch him at the Village Vanguard whenever I was in Manhattan). Nevertheless, Weinstein has conjured up a decidedly non-standard reflection on Monk that is likely to seize the attention of any serious listener.