Finally hearing Sonny Clark

[jeffcrom]

It appears on "Monk On Monk", a T.S. Monk album, as "Two Timer", credited to Thelonious Monk.

Which is why I'll never buy another recording with TS Monk on it. He has no way to know absolutely that his father wrote that piece but Sonny's estate doesn't sue him so he gets away with stealing a piece published by Sonny Clark. That's just not right.

Well, TS found the manuscript among his father's papers. That's a level of evidence I'm willing to accept.

I read where Five Will Get You Ten off of A Fickle Sonance was actually a Monk tune Sonny took credit for. TS Monk said that in an interview that Sonny lived with Monk for a short time and took it from Monk. The tune sounds Monkish but Sonny could have wrote it. If Monk wrote why didn't he ever record it? I'm not doubting TS I'm just curious is all.

According to Robin Kelley's Monk biography, Monk knew Clark was down on his luck and just gave him the tune.

My memory failed me on this - Kelley implies that Clark did steal the tune, and that Monk didn't want to make an issue of it.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Well, TS found the manuscript among his father's papers. That's a level of evidence I'm willing to accept.

This would be good evidence that Monk wrote it if Sonny Clark hadn't already published it. Legally, Sonny Clark wrote it. If TS wants to get it legally changed to his father's tune, he has to go to court and prove that his father wrote it. A manuscript does not mean that he wrote it, just that he has a copy of it in Monk's hand.

My memory failed me on this - Kelley implies that Clark did steal the tune, and that Monk didn't want to make an issue of it.

I wonder who gave Kelly that impression? I can guess...

[bertrand]

'Kelley implies that Clark did steal the tune, and that Monk didn't want to make an issue of it'.

Kelley contradicts himself at that point in the book. He claims that Monk knew about it but decided not to tell anyone. But then how would Kelley know that Monk knew about it, unless he used a ouija board?

My guess is that Monk never heard Fickle Sonance and therefore never knew. Butch Warren did not remember any question at the record date that the tune might not be Sonny's, so my guess is Jackie knew nothing about it until the T.S. Monk date. Don't know if anyone ever asked him about it.

I'm with Kevin on this - I still have my doubts. The bridge sounds more like something Sonny would write than Monk.

Bertrand.

[.:.impossible]

I'm new to Bennie Green, and I am loving his playing on Soul Stirrin', but Sonny Clark is really standing out on these tunes.