Metrical Displacement and Group Interaction in ‘Evidence’ by the Thelonious Monk Quartet

Abstract

Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk is known for his rhythmically complex compositions and improvisations. His typical 32-bar AABA form pieces provide a framework of musical norms in terms of harmonic movement, and thus a point of reference for the harmonic rhythm to be displaced. ‘Evidence’ is exemplary of Monk’s displaced rhythms, which creates a sense of metrical shifts during the head arrangement. Composed c.1948 and a frequent piece of Monk’s performance repertoire into the 1970s, a transcription and analysis of the recording from Thelonious Monk Quartet Plus Two at the Blackhawk demonstrates a conflicting sense of metre between band members of the quartet. This chapter investigates how the musicians negotiated metrical discrepancies in the composed section and the saxophone solo in terms of group interaction. A mediation of time is demonstrated by a displaced metre in the drums and each musician’s performative response to the discrepancy by providing musical signals during the course of performance. Through analysis of this performance, the chapter examines the way in which the musicians arbitrated a decisive point of reference within a confounding performance of overturning the beat. This chapter contributes to understanding rhythm and metre through improvisatory processes, augmenting scholarship on jazz through its analysis of the temporal constituents of group interaction.