[Ahmed]: Play Monk

"Pianist Pat Thomas performs the Thelonious Monk standard “Bye-Ya” with a delicate approach, as Joel Grip plays a standard shuffle on his upright bass. Drummer Antonin Gerbal joins in with a tumbao-esque rhythm faithful to the tune’s Latin characteristics, followed by Seymour Wright on alto saxophone. Their take is somewhat atypical, but hardly outlandish. Still, even in these fleeting moments, there’s a feeling that things could take a turn for the strange."

"Bits and pieces of something recognizably “jazz” are present in Wright’s playing, but he stops, stutters, and stammers his way through the tune, sounding like longtime Monk sideman Charlie Rouse filtered through a Burroughsian cut-up technique. As his tone grows more drawn-out and guttural, and Thomas’ lyrical touch gives way to percussive attack, the rhythm section ups the ante, picking up speed like a gathering tornado."

"Gradually and without warning, the group hits a fever pitch. Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot. أحمد [Ahmed] have worked their magic once again. Over the course of 10-plus years, the European jazz quartet has forged a collective sound driven by repetition, precision, angularity, and relentless, sweaty energy."

"They never rehearse and rarely make space for any solos, yet they play in lockstep, with a seemingly intrinsic sense of each other’s every next move. Until now, they’ve exclusively performed compositions by Ahmed Abdul-Malik, a bassist who synthesized Middle Eastern and North African traditions into a bold and daring new form of jazz. But on their latest album, Play Monk, the group shifts their focus to Thelonious Monk, who is second only to Ellington as the most-recorded composer in the history of jazz."

A pianist, bassist, drummer, and alto saxophonist perform Thelonious Monk’s “Bye-Ya” with a delicate start and Latin-tinged rhythmic feel. The saxophone line becomes increasingly fragmented, stuttering and stammering while the tone stretches into guttural intensity. The pianist’s touch shifts from lyrical to percussive, and the rhythm section accelerates rapidly. The group reaches a fever pitch, transforming Monk’s music into an ecstatic, trance-like dance rather than a typical club performance. Over more than ten years, the quartet has developed a collective sound based on repetition, precision, angularity, and relentless energy, operating in tight lockstep without rehearsals or extended solo space. Their new album, Play Monk, moves from compositions by Ahmed Abdul-Malik to Monk’s repertoire.

Read at Pitchfork