The complete works of Thelonious Monk

Monk’s Casino is a unique concert project that boldly and playfully sets out to perform the complete works of jazz genius Thelonious Monk. A collaboration between legendary pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and the band Die Enttäuschung (Rudi Mahall, Axel Dörner, Jan Roder, Kasper Tom), the project presents Monk’s music in a form you will not hear elsewhere – raw, concentrated, and shaped for a single evening of live performance.

This is not an encyclopaedic reconstruction, but a living, dynamic form in which Monk’s compositions are rearranged, sometimes radically shortened, elsewhere expanded. The tempo is often frantic, the atmosphere can be stormy – yet everything retains a strong structure and a clear direction. Improvisation gives way to the compositions themselves, which stand firmly at the centre of attention.

Monk’s Casino is an intense musical experience that will resonate with jazz connoisseurs as well as listeners in search of an exceptional concert evening. The music of Thelonious Monk does not sound like a museum exhibit here, but like a living organism – unpredictable, witty, rough and elegant all at once.

Prepare for an evening where things happen fast. And sometimes quite wildly.

Alexander von Schlippenbach – piano
Axel Dörner – trumpet
Rudi Mahall – bass clarinet
Jan Roder – double bass
Kasper Tom – drums

Event is organised by Rachot Production