The Baddest Monk

While still a teenager, pianist/composer Eric Reed got a big career boost by joining Wynton Marsalis’ touring band. Soon after, he recorded his first solo effort, 1990’s *Soldier’s Hymn*. On 2012’s *The Baddest Monk*, he turns his attention to interpreting the compositions of Thelonious Monk, a never-ending source of inspiration for so many musicians. (Two Reed originals, “Monk Buerre Rouge” and the title cut, are also included.) Trumpeter Etienne Charles, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Matt Clohesy, and drummer Henry Cole make up Reed’s band. The first track, “Rhythm-a-ning,” immediately makes it clear that *The Baddest Monk* will be a focused, straight-ahead take on Monk’s eccentric material. The interpretations are solid, muscular prose rather than rhapsodic poetry. One highlight is “’Round Midnight”; it features a guest appearance by Jose James, a singer equally comfortable with old standards and cutting-edge 21st-century R&B. Accompanied here by piano, James digs into the song, never leaving the blues or the church behind.