About the Music:This recording documents the ensemble's celebration of the 60thAnniversary of the"Birth of the Cool" and the 50th Anniversary of the"Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall". It was recorded live with no splices, overdubs, and with minimal isolation.“Budo”, “Boplicity” and “Move” are directly from the original"Birth ofthe Cool" sessions with new solos by Brent, Sarah, Matt M., Alex, Weband myself.“Joost at the Roost”, a Mulligan original, was discoveredafter the death of Miles Davis among the trumpeter's personal effectsin a warehouse in Philadelphia. It was never recorded by the nonet.Chris Byars arranged “Baby Grand” for the ensemble. It was composed byGeorge Wallington, who also composed"Godchild" for the"Birth of theCool" sessions of 1949.“Off Minor “("What Now") and “Feeling That Way Now” (one of theoriginal titles of “Monk's Mood”) feature Rodney Richardson's guitarin place of the piano. The selection of guitar over piano wasinspired by circumstances where the ensemble would perform"Monk atTown Hall" at venues without a piano. Incidentally, Richardson's creative authenticity wheninterpreting Monk was an inspiration in itself.My arrangements of “Light Blue” and “Oska T.” are derived from HallOverton's big band versions that Monk performed at the PhilharmonicHall in 1963. I re-worked the voicings to fit this instrumentation andre-imagined the background lines.The new arrangement of “Lulu’s Back In Town”, a favoritestandard in Monk’s repertoire, pays homage not only to Monk’sinterpretation, but also to Fats Waller’s rendition with clarinet in place of the tenor saxophone.- Brad Linde, August 2009with:Brad Linde-tenor saxophone/clarinet, baritone saxophone (1-7)Brent Madsen-trumpetSarah Hughes-alto saxophone/clarinetHeidi Littman-french hornMatt Musselman-tromboneMatt Rippetoe-baritone saxophone (8-12)Liz Prince-tubaRodney Richardson-guitarAlex Shubert-pianoKevin Pace-bassWeb Grant-drumsNote: Physical CD contains two additional tracks not available through digital download.