I was getting obsessed with Monk's tune "Friday the 13th." It has four chords repeated over and over (the Andalusian cadence!) and a melody that consists of motif, repeated 3 times. After being obsessed for a few day, I turn on the jazz station this morning, and there is French pianist explaining the tune to an audience, and having them whistle the tune.
Then he starts playing "Ruby, my Dear," a completely different Monk tune with a far more complex harmony and structure.
His name is Laurent de Wilde. I discover now that he is the author of a book about Monk. He is a pretty bad ass player. Unfortunately I missed the first part of this show, but now they are having a clip of a Dizzy big band playing in Copenhagen.
Extreme simplicity and extreme complexity. They aren't even opposites, they are complementary. The same way a Jobim tune can have a super convoluted musical structure and sound like a relaxing pop song at the same time.
"Desafinado" is one I've also been obsessed with in the past. The title means "Out of tune," and the melody has an odd shape, as though it were out of tune, though it is really not.
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