Miles Okazaki -guitar
Guitarist Miles Okazaki will perform the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk live in NYC on solo guitar
On October 16th and 18th, 2024, from 7pm to Midnight, at The Jazz Gallery in NYC, Miles Okazaki will give two performances of the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk. This will likely be the first time that this body of work has been performed in a single night, and the shows will be shot and recorded for a concert film. Attendees will be able to purchase tickets for the evening and come and go between songs as needed over the course of four sets. Okazaki will play from memory on a 1940 Charlie Christian electric guitar, celebrating Monk’s 107th birthday in this extended meditation on, and exploration of, one of the greatest collections of compositions in music history.
This concert builds on the recording of the complete songbook that Okazaki began in 2017, Thelonious Monk’s centennial year. Upon its release in 2018, the 6-disc, 70-track album WORK received wide critical acclaim for its originality and audacity—Nate Chinen described it as “the six-string equivalent of a free solo climb up El Capitan.” The album landed on more than a dozen Top Ten lists for 2018, and Okazaki was voted the #1 rising star guitarist in the DownBeat Critic’s poll. For the concerts on Oct. 16th and 18th, Okazaki will take his year-long preparatory effort and present it all in a single night.
“The first of its kind, Mr. Okazaki’s release sent a stir of excitement through the jazz world. . . . Mr. Okazaki used no overdubs or effects and never changed a piece’s key, time signature or central melody. But he arrived at an engrossing, nearly five-hour collection that sounds entirely new.” – Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times “Best Jazz of 2018”
“an act of immersive scholarship and exhaustive scope . . . a singular achievement . . . There’s a spare and haunting quality to the sound, as a result of the restrictions imposed — but at no point does it feel as if Okazaki could have used more on his palette, or reinforcements. His effort has an integrity borne of solitary focus.” – Nate Chinen, WBGO
Concert details:
Miles Okazaki: WORK, LIVE
Wednesday 10/16 and Friday 10/18, 7pm to Midnight
The Jazz Gallery
1158 Broadway, 5th floor
(entrance on 27th Street)
New York NY 10001
SPONSORSHIP
The Jazz Gallery is a not-for-profit arts organization presenting emerging artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers and thinkers. We provide a platform for artists to discover their unique voice and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At The Jazz Gallery, artists and audiences come together from around the world to explore new creative ideas, collaborate and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.
We rely on the generosity of our members and community to keep the music playing, thank you for your continued and much appreciated support! If you would like to sponsor a Livestream Concert, please use the links above or be in touch with our Executive Director, Janet Luhrs, here.