Soprano saxophonist
Steve Lacy continued his early exploration of
Thelonious Monk's compositions on this 1961 Prestige date,
Evidence.
Lacy worked extensively with
Monk, absorbing the pianist's intricate music and adding his individualist soprano saxophone mark to it. On this date, he employs the equally impressive
Don Cherry on trumpet, who was playing with the
Ornette Coleman quartet at the time, drummer
Billy Higgins, who played with both Coleman and Monk, and bassist
Carl Brown.
Cherry proved capable of playing outside the jagged lines he formulated with
Coleman, being just as complimentary and exciting in
Monk's arena with
Lacy. Out of the six tracks, four are
Monk's compositions while the remaining are lesser known
Ellington numbers: "The Mystery Song" and "Something to Live For" (co-written with
Billy Strayhorn). ~ Al Campbell