Ari Hoenig's treatment of Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud" for the NY Standard series is a masterful reimagining that honors the composition's quirky character while opening it up to contemporary improvisation. The 2015 recording features four soloists navigating the 32-bar AABA form at a relaxed medium tempo. Gilad Hekselman leads with a single guitar chorus that captures the tune's angular charm with modern harmonic vocabulary. Tivon Pennicott follows with a tenor saxophone chorus that balances Monk's idiosyncratic melodic language with the saxophonist's own lyrical sensibility. Shai Maestro delivers a piano chorus that is particularly attuned to Monk's aesthetic, his playing incorporating the kinds of rhythmic surprises and harmonic juxtapositions that made Monk's own improvisations so distinctive. Hoenig closes with a half-chorus of drum improvisation that demonstrates his trademark melodic drumming approach, maintaining the song's form and harmonic feel even without pitched instruments. The composition, which Monk wrote as a tribute to pianist Bud Powell, has become one of the most frequently performed Monk tunes, and this version brings a fresh generational perspective while respecting its essential character. The quartet's relaxed interplay suggests musicians who are deeply comfortable with both the material and each other.
