Xhosa Cole evokes Monk’s rebellious creativity at Ronnie’s

Following on from his well-received album exploring of the music of Thelonious Monk, On A Modern Genius Vol.1, Xhosa Cole assembled a cast of musicians for this performance at Ronnie Scott’s that was markedly different to that on the album. Only bassist Josh Vadiveloo remained with no guitarist or tap dancer here. The rest of the line-up included Tim Giles on drums, Hans Koller on Euphonium, Cleveland Watkiss on vocals (a last-minute replacement for trumpeter Byron Wallen), and intriguingly, that most-Monkish of current pianists, Pat Thomas.

Xhosa has come a long way since emerging on the scene in 2018 as winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year, becoming a fixture in avant garde as well as more straight-ahead circles: from dates at Cafe OTO with Hamid Drake and supporting Irreversible Entanglements at Earth on the one hand, to here, playing at the epicenter of the jazz establishment, in his quest to resurrect the creative spirit of Monk.

The convivial, early evening supper club atmosphere lent itself to much between track ‘banter’ with Xhosa’s regular casual attire of tracksuit swapped for a more fittingly formal Jacket and trouser ensemble for the occasion. The evening eased in with the classic ‘Epistrophy’, minus piano, with Cole’s tenor sax dancing around the melody in a post-bop swing.

‘Crepuscule’, the second track in, was appropriately introduced by pianist Pat Thomas, this track in particular encapsulating the essence of Thomas’ innovative Monk stylings, all crashing block chords and angular countermelody. If the rather subdued audience wasn’t already shaken it was now certainty stirred.

The mood lightened somewhat with a gentle rendition of ‘Pannonica’ with Hans Koller’s Euphonium to the fore and continued with Cleveland Watkiss’ unique vocalisations on ‘Trinkle, Tinkle’, which echoed the tap-dancing part of the album version.

‘Straight No Chaser’ concluded the evening’s entertainment, with the full band sounding almost like a New Orleans ragtime collective. Off we marched into the early evening Soho air with the eternal sound and sprit of Monk ringing in our ears.

Read our in-depth interview with Xhosa Cole here