REVIEW: 16 June 2005

Toni Kofi

Tony Kofi is known as the man who does Monk. He has played all 70 Thelonious Monk compositions in a marathon non-stop 6-hour gig with the Monk Liberation Front and his first CD is devoted to the same man. But as guest at the Spin he showed he is far more than just a Monk disciple. Most of all he showed that he is not just a sax player, he is a man who plays alto. And incidentally Monk’s great sidesman, Charlie Rouse, only ever played tenor. When so many saxophonists these days play two or even three different reed instruments it is unusual for someone of Kofi’s standing to stick to one. But where others pick up tenor or soprano to give a particular tune a different colour, Kofi just does something different with the alto. He is a man with one instrument and many voices, from cool and clear to fast and fluent through to harsh and rasping and all played with a style that leads straight from bebop through Coltrane and out into the 21st century.

It was good to realise that the set was entirely the soloist’s own choice so Kofi was able to play with great confidence and without reference to sheet music. From the first number through to the one token Monk piece at the end Kofi demonstrated the range of melodies he is prepared to encompass and the variety of voices with which he can interpret them. After a long, almost too long, solo introduction to the third number he dropped into the first bars of Mal Waldron’s exquisite Soul Eyes, with such sudden sweetness of tone there was an almost audible groan of pleasure from the audience. He pulled the same trick in the second half with his own interpretation of A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square during which a straight solo was eschewed in favour of two long embellishments of the tune. Conversely on the fast pieces like, West 42nd Street, Kofi ripped through chorus after chorus with stunning fluency and imagination.

On this occasion the house band was led by Luis D’Agostino who performed the perfect role of backing a guest by giving Kofi as much space as he wanted to take. Kofi, on the other hand, showed evident enjoyment in the playing of the whole Spin trio.

© Paul Medley