Concert connects the dots between Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk

The pianist Thelonious Monk and bassist Charles Mingus were born and they died within a handful of years of each other. They both found early inspiration in Duke Ellington's music and had a large hand in shaping what we know to be modern jazz, yet the record shows their paths did not cross much.

It might be because they grew up on opposite coasts, Monk in New York, Mingus in Los Angeles. Monk, sometimes credited with inventing bebop (an assertion many would argue against), was known for a spare and percussive style of playing, which his compositions reflect. He played mostly in trios and small combos.

Mingus' music was, for lack of a better term, busier, layered with thick harmonies. He played in and composed for large ensembles, drawing comparisons to Ellington. But Monk and Mingus also had much in common, both using dissonance and angular melodies to create a new basis for jazz harmony.

Their compositions have been played, studied and adapted. Mingus died in 1979, Monk in 1982, leaving a collective legacy in the form of jazz competitions, tribute bands, biographies, posthumous honors, and in Monk's case, a prestigious institute of jazz named after him.

This weekend, Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO), in its 15th season, will perform two concerts featuring the composers' music. The big band will be joined by singer Gail Pettis.

Although Monk is known more for his trio work, he recorded "The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall" with a 10-piece band. SRJO will perform several transcribed pieces from that album.

"His concept was always linear," co-director Michael Brockman said of Monk's large-group compositions. "You have two or three separate linear melodies going on at the same time. The way they mix together is where the interest lies.

"Mingus was much more about the harmony he could stack up using all the instruments. But the harmony is dissonant and striking. He was not about creating chords that are simple and easy to listen to."

Hugo Kugiya: hkugiya@yahoo.com