Thelonious Monk, music · Jon Hendricks, lyrics (as Listen to Monk) · First recorded with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, 1957
Rhythm-a-Ning
Rhythm-a-Ning is a Thelonious Monk tune on the chord changes of I Got Rhythm, first recorded in 1957. It stays on rhythm changes, a form most players already know, which leaves plenty of room for solos. Monk played it on almost every live album from 1958, and Dexter Gordon and Chick Corea recorded it too.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk✓
- 2 Hear Monk's quartet Thelonious Monk Quartet✓
- 3 Add a baritone sax Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan✓
- 4 Hear the words Carmen McRae✓
- 5 Follow a sax-led band Art Pepper Quintet✓
- 6 Hear it without horns Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes✓
- 7 Hear it on guitar Bobby Broom Trio✓
- 8 Hear a modern trio Esbjörn Svensson Trio✓
How the tune works
Thirty-two bars in four sections of eight, A A B A, all in B♭. Each A section starts on B♭, steps to E♭ with a passing E diminished chord in bar 2, then plays Dm7 G7 and Cm7 F7. Bars 5 and 6 go to B♭7 and E♭6, and the first A section then repeats Dm7 G7 and Cm7 F7 to lead into the second. The second and third A sections play Cm7 F7 in bar 7 and settle on B♭ in bar 8. The bridge is four dominant chords, D7, G7, C7 and F7, two bars each. The last A brings the form home to B♭.
The usual head changes in B♭. Each A section comes from the rhythm-changes pattern with an E♭ chord in bar 2, and the bridge runs D7, G7, C7 and F7, two bars each.
The lead sheet gives separate head and solo changes. The head changes are drawn here, with E♭ and E°7 in bar 2. The solo changes replace that bar with Cm7 F7. The lead sheet also marks bar 5 as B♭7♯11 and bar 24 as F7♭5. Jazzingly's chart (B♭, medium up swing) plays B♭ G7, Cm7 F7 twice at the start of each A and uses E♭7 and E°7 in the second half, so charts and recordings differ in the A sections. Ethan Hein's analysis agrees on the bridge: two bars each of D7, G7, C7 and F7. Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Monk's first recording and his own quartet, then Gerry Mulligan's baritone saxophone and Carmen McRae singing a lyric. It ends with a saxophone-led quintet and three trios: piano, guitar and a Swedish piano trio from 1996.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk 1957
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
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- Listen for
- The band has Bill Hardman on trumpet, Johnny Griffin on tenor sax and Monk on piano. Count the tune in 32-bar choruses; the chart on this page marks its AABA shape.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the recording, first chord of each bar only. If you lose your place, wait for the next A section and come back in.
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Step 2 · Hear Monk's quartet Now playing
Thelonious Monk Quartet 1962
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Criss-Cross
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- Listen for
- A quartet of tenor sax, piano, bass and drums in a take of 3:58, much shorter than the Blakey record. Count how many 32-bar choruses fit before the track ends.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the recording, one chord per bar. The take is short, so try it for the whole track.
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Step 3 · Add a baritone sax Now playing
Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan 1957
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Mulligan Meets Monk
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- Listen for
- A baritone saxophone and piano, with bass and drums. Compare the low horn with the tenor sax on the Criss-Cross take.
- Try this
- Play only the A sections of the chart with the recording and rest through the bridge, then come back in for the last A.
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Step 4 · Hear the words Now playing
Carmen McRae 1988
“Listen to Monk (Rhythm-a-Ning)”, Carmen Sings Monk
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Carmen McRae sings Jon Hendricks's words, with a tenor sax, piano, bass and drums in the band. Follow the singer through the form and compare her phrases with the A and B sections of the chart.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords under the recording, one chord per bar, and note where each A section starts again.
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Step 5 · Follow a sax-led band Now playing
Art Pepper Quintet 1960
Gettin' Together!
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- Listen for
- Art Pepper on saxophone and Conte Candoli on trumpet, with piano, bass and drums behind them. The track runs 7:19, long enough to count the 32-bar form more than once.
- Try this
- Play the first A section of the chart (eight bars) with the recording, then count the bridge's eight bars before the last A.
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Step 6 · Hear it without horns Now playing
Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes 1981
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Trio Music
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums only, with no horns. Listen to the bass and check the chart against its notes at the start of each bar.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords on piano or guitar with the recording, one chord per bar. For a smaller version, play only the chord that starts each four-bar line.
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Step 7 · Hear it on guitar Now playing
Bobby Broom Trio 2009
Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
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- Listen for
- Guitar, bass and drums, with no piano. Follow the guitar and check its chords against the chart, especially on the bridge.
- Try this
- Guitarists can play the chart's chords in this key, one per bar. Pianists can play the chord roots in the left hand and the full chords in the right.
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Step 8 · Hear a modern trio Now playing
Esbjörn Svensson Trio 1996
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, EST Plays Monk
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A Swedish piano trio from the 1990s: piano, bass and drums. The take runs 4:04, about as short as the Criss-Cross take, so you can compare how each handles the 32-bar form.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords with the recording, one per bar. If the tempo is too quick for you, play only the chord that starts each four-bar line and keep counting.
More great versions
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Thelonious Monk Quartet with Johnny Griffin 1958
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Thelonious in Action
The first live album to carry the tune, recorded at the Five Spot with Johnny Griffin on tenor sax and running 9:25.
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Thelonious Monk Quartet with Barney Wilen 1959
Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960
Recorded in New York in July 1959 for Roger Vadim's film with two tenor saxophonists, Charlie Rouse and Barney Wilen, and first issued in 2017.
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The Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet 1961
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Lookin' at Monk!
Two tenor saxophonists, Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, play an album of Monk tunes recorded in New York in February 1961.
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Thelonious Monk Quartet 1964
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, Live at the It Club
A live set in Los Angeles with Charlie Rouse on tenor sax; the tune runs 10:09.
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Dexter Gordon Quartet 1970
“Rhythm-A-Ning”, The Jumpin' Blues
Dexter Gordon on tenor sax with Wynton Kelly on piano, recorded in New York in August 1970 for Prestige.
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Kenny Barron-John Hicks Quartet 1989
Rhythm-a-Ning
A live set from the Riverside Park Arts Festival with two pianos, Kenny Barron and John Hicks, plus bass and drums.