The Monk tribute opens with one of Thelonious Monk's later compositions, a 32-bar AABA piece in A-flat minor taken at a medium-up 192 BPM. Three soloists are featured — Lefkowitz-Brown delivers five choruses on tenor saxophone, Feifke follows with three on piano, and Chmielinski takes a three-chorus acoustic bass solo. Monk first recorded Green Chimneys for his 1966 Columbia album Underground, naming it after the boarding school his children attended. The tune's distinctive angular melody and minor tonality set an appropriately Monkish tone for the tribute's opening. At nearly nine minutes, the performance gives each soloist generous space while establishing the quartet's approach to Monk's material — respecting the compositional quirks while stretching out in extended improvisation. The set moves next to Rhythm-A-Ning, shifting from Monk's angular minor-key writing to his playful take on rhythm changes.
