Monk's bag o' tricks

>> T.S. Monk on making it and faking it

by SCOTT C

Imagine you're an extremely talented drummer, composer, band leader and vocalist who's had many years in the business, countless shows and performances, kudos and accolades, all the world-travel you could handle and you're the son of Thelonious Monk. This is the world of T.S. Monk.

Mirror: When was the last time you were home in New Jersey? Is this whirlwind tour working your last nerve?

TS Monk: I was home about two weeks ago for a few days, but I'm in a whirlwind career right now. I don't look at it as a tour because I've been out here working pretty regularly for about eight years now. Since I put out my first CD life has been good.

M: Didn't you play with the R&B band LTD in the '80s?

TS: No, I didn't play with them--those people can't play! (laughs) It was still T.S. Monk, I just had another band and I was singin' and doing a whole other thing. Although I did love Jeffrey Osbourne when he played with LTD. He was a singin' drummer too.

M: I didn't know Jeffrey Osbourne was a drummer.

TS: Kon Funk Shun, Kool and the Gang, LTD, we were all on the same circuit, but jazz and theatre are the only art forms where the artists are required to interact with each other. The Stones and the Beatles were on the road for 20 years and never played with each other. In pop music, the entity is the entity, but a good jazz musician has to play with other jazz musicians.

M: Where do you rank yourself as a jazz drummer?

TS: I stopped playing from '84 to '91, and I only played with my father for five years before getting involved in R&B. So if I look at myself in relation to a lot of guys far younger than me, some of these cats have put a lot more time into jazz than I have, but you know I can fake the hell out of it (laughs).

M: There's got to be some credit given for being able to fake it well.

TS: Hopefully so. Tony Williams, Buddy Miles, Elvin Jones and Art Blakey were all really magical players and had their own bag of tricks. That's what this thing is about, playin' your own bag. There's eternal characteristics about certain jazz players and that quality lives on. If you still hit people hard after 25 years, then you must be doing something right.

At the Spectrum on Saturday, July 10, 6pm, $27.50