"Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington" – Thelonious Monk

"Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington" – Thelonious Monk

From You'll Hear It by Peter Martin & Adam Maness

March 23, 2026 · 1h 6m · Season 14 · Episode 9

About this episode

In this episode, Adam Maness and Peter Martin explore Thelonious Monk's interpretations of Duke Ellington's music and its impact on jazz.

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington: The musicians on this album were already legends when it came out in 1955. Each of them completely reinvented how people play their instruments. Drummer Kenny Clarke: the originator of so much of modern drumming language. Bass player Oscar Pettiford: possibly the greatest bass soloist in the history of the instrument. And then there's Monk, one of the singular greatest pianists of all time. And here they are playing the music of Duke Ellington: an untouchable legend. The result is an album that brought Monk's genius to the masses. And it may just be one of his best. In this LIVE episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin break down this remarkable moment in music history, playing Monk's interpretations next to Duke's originals. If you've never really got Monk, this album is your gateway into his music. And if you're already a fan, you'll never hear this album the same way again. ------------------------------- Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi ------------------------------- About You'll Hear It: In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down…

People in this episode

Hosts: Adam Maness, Peter Martin

Topics covered

  • Thelonious Monk
  • Duke Ellington
  • jazz history
  • album analysis
  • musical interpretation

Keywords

  • Thelonious Monk
  • Duke Ellington
  • jazz
  • album review
  • music history

Sponsors

Open Studio

More episodes of You'll Hear It

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the You'll Hear It podcast page.