Detroit-native and saxophone colossus (seriously, he deserves that description), James Carter, has released a new album titled “Present Tense.“ I heard a review on NPR with sound clips from the record. It’s a marvelous showcase of Carter’s mega-mastery of the tenor, baritone and soprano saxophones…oh, and the flute and bass clarinet to boot!

James Carter is an incredibly powerful musician who’s sound could knock over whatever home the Big Bad Wolf couldn’t. You’ll know what I mean when you hear him play. Growing up in Michigan, I heard about Carter all the way back to high school, when Carter, not much older than myself, was making an early name for himself around Detroit. He certainly has grown up to be a musician worthy of world-class recognition.

I’m adding it to the purchase list, along with Ellis Marsalis’ “An Open Letter to Thelonious” that was also just released.

So this spring/summer’s ‘jazz elective’ is Thelonious Monk. First off, the Clyde Band’s new alto saxophonist, Pete Ross, and I have rekindled the torch that Roscoe Mitchell and I had kept lit for a number of years. We’re beginning to meet regularly to study and practice jazz pieces, primarily focusing on Jamie Aebersold books that we would like to learn or learn anew. We decided the Thelonious Monk book, Volume 56, would be our starting point.

Thelonious Monk’s sound and style was eccentric and unique, but deeply rooted in harmonic theory and rich jazz tradition. Monk’s compositions had a powerful formative influence on John Coltrane’s playing style. After years of serving as the primary saxophonist for Miles Davis, Coltrane grew hungry for a new challenge, a new inspiration for his own insatiable pursuit for musical knowledge. He found that creative energy in Monk. Coltrane discovered new chord and harmonic relationships, patterns of sounds and relative structure that really had never been applied to jazz composition until Thelonious Monk. Some say Coltrane’s years with Monk after Miles had the biggest impact on Coltrane’s growth as a musician, helping Coltrane break free of conventional standards that were obstructing his driving creativity.

That said, it couldn’t hurt to try and understand Thelonious Monk’s music a little better myself.

Here’s a fun tune called “I Mean You” that Pete and I are working on, performed by Monk in Paris in 1969.

There is one more important thread to mention regarding Monk. Ellis Marsalis just released a new album titled “An Open Letter to Thelonious,” which has been heralded as a ‘must have’ by my music aficionado friends, most notably, Kevin McFadden of Portland-via-Detroit. It’s on my list to purchase this week, and should be on yours.