Regeneration

This 1982 recording is a spectacular meeting of strong personalities--all distinguished veterans of the free-jazz revolution--commemorating their shared roots in the music of Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols. Monk and Nichols were close associates in New York in the '40s, but while Monk's compositions eventually achieved the status of jazz standards, Nichols's equally challenging music remained in relative obscurity until recently, a turnaround inspired largely by the efforts of the musicians on this album. Steve Lacy was an early champion of Monk's music, while trombonist Roswell Rudd discovered Nichols's innovative compositions when they worked together in the '50s. In the early '60s, Lacy and Rudd had a quartet devoted to playing Monk's music, while Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink have a knowledge of the music as extended and profound, first recording a Monk tune on Eric Dolphy's Last Date in 1964. Bassist Kent Carter completes this stellar group, which touches on some of the craggiest peaks of jazz tradition. It's music that brims with collective energy and invention, invoking a spirit that connects swing, bop, and free improvisation.