Thelonious Monk's "Pannonica" on lap steel

[Mike Neer]

I've always loved this song and got a wild hair to play it recently, so last night I sat down and worked out the melody. Today, I created the drum loop, recorded the bass and guitar. I haven't worked on blowing over the tune yet, but that will come in time. I basically read down the chord chart when I took the guitar solo, so that's exactly what it sounds like.

I love the tune, Pannonica, written for baroness Pannonica, who was a jazz enthusiast who actually bought a beautiful house in Weehawkin, NJ overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Monk lived there for a while.

Here's the tune--it has a lot of changes in it, and I had to try to decipher Monk's playing to write it down.

Pannonica

Thanks for listening!

[Rob MacKillop]

Gorgeous. Great tone and phrasing. Sounds like it was written by a lap steel player. I like this style a lot.

[Rich Sullivan]

Mike,

That is absolutely beautiful. Kudos to you.

Rich

[CrowBear Schmitt]

Good one Mike
i love Melodious Thunk

[Mike Neer]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the compliment. It's just beautiful music. I've always thought of that DbMaj7#11 chord (the last chord of the A sections) as the "Monk" chord. The first version I ever heard of this was by McCoy Tyner and I fell in love with the tune. Never played it until yesterday (except for that chord).

I had to play this with bare fingers in order to block properly.

I like that, Crowbear--how about Felonious Monk? By the way, Monk had the coolest middle name ever: Sphere.

[Steve Cunningham]

I love it Mike...great job! Thelonious and the Baroness are both smiling right now, for sure.

Monk's tunes translate really well on lap steel IMHO, although certainly not easily. You really nailed the harmony - what tuning are you in?

[ebb]

love it!

[Mike Neer]

Steve, it is C6/A7 tuning.

Duh, I called her "princess"--that's obviously not the case. She was the Baroness.

[John Morton]

Good job on a good tune, Mike. There is something very steel-ish about Monk's chord movements, but it's hard to see how you managed to find the essentials of each chord. Awesome.

I hope you get around to Ask Me Now and Ruby My Dear, other ballads in a similar vein.
John

[Rob MacKillop]

Mike, what do you play for that DbMaj7#11 chord? A Cm triad (the enharmonic upper structure) or what?

Let's see, the notes of the chord are

Db F Ab C Eb G

Probably not a good idea to have the 5th (Ab) in there, clashing with the G. I'm just curious how to play these extended chords on the lap steel.

Rob

[Rick Winfield]

Hannah Rothschild, wrote and produced a film,
"the Jazz Baroness", telling a tale of 'Nica & Monk.
"Pannonica" is more than just another tune. There is both Hell and Beauty in Genius, that composed that piece
Rick

[Jeff Spencer]

Well done sir, well done!!
jeff

[Rick Schmidt]

Thanks Mike! Just beautiful! Thanks for making me aware of this tune too.

[Rose Sinclair]

Very cool.

[Mike Neer]

Mike, what do you play for that DbMaj7#11 chord? A Cm triad (the enharmonic upper structure) or what?

Let's see, the notes of the chord are

Db F Ab C Eb G

Probably not a good idea to have the 5th (Ab) in there, clashing with the G. I'm just curious how to play these extended chords on the lap steel.

Rob

I use the 3 note chord Db G C (1 #11 7) (which are all open strings). If I was tuned to C6, I'd play this: x x 1 1 0 x 0 x, but it would require me to strum the bottom 3 notes with my thumb while I pluck string 2, not an easy task.

My guitar comping is only 2 note skeleton voicings--mostly the 3rd and 7th, sometimes 6th--Jim Hall-ish, which I was going for.

[Tom Pettingill]

Nice one Mike!

[Robert Stewart Johnson]

This is beautiful Mike!