After the local news at noon, this live WGXC Fall Pledge Drive broadcast lands squarely (and hiply) on what would have been Thelonious Monk’s 106th birthday. The show will feature nine couplets, each pairing a Monk composition played by Monk himself with another artist interpreting the same tune. Those artists include Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, Paul Motian, Miles Okazaki, Jerry Gonzales, the Art Ensemble of Chicago with Cecil Taylor, and the Kronos String Quartet, among others. Special thanks to occasional "Overlooked" guest Marc Epstein for researching and creating the playlist for this program. “Overlooked” is a show focusing on overlooked and under-heard jazz, improvisational, and other fringe music, from early roots to contemporary experiments, a mix of familiar to rare, classic to weird. Live from the shadow of Overlook Mountain in Ulster County.

Playlist
Ask Me Now - Monk; Steve Lacy/Charlie Rouse
Brilliant Corners - Monk; Anthony Brown Asian Orchestra
Crepuscule wit Nellie - Monk; Paul Motian (with Frisell, Lovano)
Little Rootie Tootie - Monk; Buell Neidlinger
Monk’s Dream - Monk; Miles Okazaki
Rhythm-a-ning - Monk; Kronos Quartet
Nutty - Monk; Art Ensemble of Chicago with Cecil Taylor
Off Minor - Monk; Anthony Braxton
Misterioso - Monk; Jerry Gonzales

Host Rob Saffer is the former Executive Director and Producer of the Creative Music Foundation. While living in Brooklyn for 25 years, he served on advisory boards for Celebrate Brooklyn and Symphony Space. He also curated the Brooklyn Museum’s summer jazz series and helped found The Mingus Big Band.

Overlooked Playlist Archive