Elliott Sharp - Sharp? Monk? Sharp! Monk!

Clean Feed G001

Guitarist Elliott Sharp is not a player I’ve paid much attention to in the past. He’s been a fixture in New York for decades, plying an improvisatory method informed as much by rock and classical, as blues and jazz. But even with that deep reservoir of interest and influence as calling card the source material on Sharp? Monk? Sharp! Monk! registers as a surprise. Sharp seems to anticipate such reactions with his interrogatory and emphatic title. These five covers aren’t parodies or put-ons. They’re intended as serious interpretations and they work persuasively as such. Wielding acoustic model, occasionally out-fitted with his signature e-bow as on the haunting divination of “’Round Midnight”, Sharp attacks the familiar themes with focused purpose and creativity. The staggered progression of “Misterioso” carries Fahey overtones in its folkish delivery, audible fret slides, and later fantasia-like feel. I also hear kinship with Kelly Joe Phelps in the bright, at times brittle, articulation of the strings and nimble rhythmic ornamentations. Derek Bailey is another indelible referent, mainly in the sharp spidery picking that crops up periodically amongst the pieces. “Well, You Needn’t” carries strange flamenco overtones in its relentless arpeggiations while “Bemsha Swing” sounds like a Petrie dish blend of the composer, Fred Frith, Segovia and Stefan Grossman. Best for last is “Epistrophy” a deluge of bottleneck brilliance. In a few places, Sharp’s formidable technique consumes him and with it comes the feeling that he’s showing off. But more often, his towering musical chops are channeled directly into the service of the tunes. No matter how far afield his callused fingers stray an eventual return to the motivic core seems assured. Also working in Sharp’s favor is the economical length of the set and the decision to interpret only a handful of compositions. It’s become common practice to aggrandize Monk through atomization, but Sharp’s entry to the crowded field of expositors accomplishes the often-stated, but rarely achieved aim of saying something new with the source.

~ Derek Taylor